The Penguin's Nest
by Meowth22
Summary: Leni takes a job as a babysitter caring for a newcomer in their neighborhood, a young, troubled boy named Oswald Cobblepot. This story will explore what happens when the Louds accept this misfit into their family, and how their misadventures affect him. Will include heroes and villains from throughout the Golden Age of Comics, such as the Justice Society of America.
1. Prologue

**Cobblepot:**

The Cobblepots from Gotham City, Illinois, had just moved into Royal Woods, Michigan, a suburb not far from the once-prosperous city of Metropolis. Esther Cobblepot and her seven-year old son, Oswald.

One of Gotham's founding families, they had fallen on hard times. The misfortune began with the passing of Oswald's father from pneumonia, caused by walking in the rain without the protection of an umbrella, which happened when the boy was barely four.

Mr. Cobblepot was a distant father, and young Ozzie could scarcely recall having any sentimental moments with him, but his death caused Esther to become paranoid about her son's health. She insisted that he always keep an umbrella with him at all times.

Ozzie was raised to always be a gentleman, and to regain their family's standing in Gotham. And to gain retribution upon the family responsible for their fall from grace: the Waynes. Esther despised the Waynes, and was quick to instill that in her son.

Due to his short height, bird-like nose, and obesity, Ozzie was bullied mercilessly at school, receiving the mocking nickname 'The Penguin' from his peers.

His sole solace from this torment was his mother and their many pet birds. Ozzie had such a natural affinity for birds that he dreamed of being an ornithologist when he grew up.

One day, at school, minutes after the school day ended, Oswald saw a small bird lying ill on the sidewalk. He stepped cautiously towards it, contemplating whether he should take it back home to nurse it back to health, when he was jumped from behind.

A small gang of bullies had followed him, hoping to find some amusement at 'the Penguin's' expense. The leader of this bunch of ruffians, despite Ozzie's pleas, picked up the bird and choked it to death with a smirk. They then punched the young Cobblepot in the face, leaving him lying on his back on the sidewalk, moaning in pain.

That was the last straw for Ozzie. He began an exercise regimen, lifting weights and using a punching bag for weeks until he worked up enough courage to confront the bully in the schoolyard.

With one punch, he dropped the bully, before leaping upon him and pounding his face. By the time Ozzie had been pulled off him, the bully had lost several teeth, and Ozzie's own knuckles felt bruised.

Ozzie was expelled from school for the beating. Esther was conflicted: she was upset at Ozzie for using violence, but felt remorse for not intervening enough to protect him from being bullied.

So, she decided that, instead of enrolling him in another Gotham school, she would move away, to give him a fresh start.

Despite all the reprimands he had received, Ozzie couldn't help, but feel pride for what he had done to the sick bastard.

 **Loud:**

16-year old Leni Loud was looking for a job.

She had already lost several due to her own ditziness over the years, but she felt she had just found the perfect one: babysitting.

Having been the second eldest of eleven siblings, she felt she was a natural at taking care of a child's needs.

She heard that their new neighbor, a Mrs. Cobblepot, had a son who needed a babysitter.


	2. Leni meets Oswald

Leni walked to the address in the ad. It was a large house about a block away from her own.

She rang the doorbell, and waited until the lady of the house answered.

Standing before her was a stern-faced, middle-aged woman who introduced herself as Esther Cobblepot.

Leni told her that she was here for the babysitting job, so Esther let her inside the house.

Esther sat the teen down on the couch, and gave her some basic information about Oswald: his needs (exercise & diet), and his hobbies (mostly taking care of his birds).

Leni explained to the woman that, as she had several younger siblings, she felt that she was qualified of taking care of a boy like him, bringing up that she had a brother.

Esther asked her on what her brother was like, to which Leni replied that he was the sweetest boy that she knew.

In order to prepare the girl to be sensitive about her son's appearance, Mrs. Cobblepot decided to inform Leni about Oswald's past troubles with bullies due to his experience.

Having dealt with bullying due to her ditziness in her youth (and still did to some extent in the present), Leni felt her heart break, hearing about what the boy went through.

Then, Esther explained the incident that caused their moving to Royal Woods, providing her with Oswald's side of the story. Leni was perplexed at how a young boy could do such a terrible thing to an innocent bird, but decided to reserve judgment until she met Oswald himself.

Esther called for her son to come down, so Leni got her first look at the boy.

A short boy came down the stairs. He was a little chubby, though the exercise regimen was helping him lose weight. The most noticeable feature on his face was his nose. It was shaped like a bird's beak.

Leni put on a bright smile, and introduced herself. Oswald barely managed to make eye contact with her before looking away and greeting her shyly.

His mother introduced the blonde teenage girl sitting on their couch as his new babysitter, before departing to allow the two of them to get better acquainted.

Leni slowly managed to coax Oswald to tell her about some of his interests. He took her into the next room, where he showed her his weights and punching bag, which he was using regularly to get into shape. Leni thought that Lynn could help him with that, though worried that the young boy could use this new-found strength to lash out.

Then, he brought her upstairs, where they found the bird room. Leni was amazed to see so many kinds of birds all in this one room. A giddy Oswald fed each of the pet birds right in front of her. Leni was amazed at his skills with these animals, with him not being pecked once by any of the birds.

Oswald stepped a little out of his shell when he told her that he wanted to be an ornithologist. When Leni expressed confusion at the big word, Oswald explained that it was a person who is an expert in birds, to which she encouraged him in, pointing out how all the birds just reacted to him.

Oswald was not sure what to make of his new babysitter. She seemed nice enough, but not all quite there in the noggin. He was being cautious in his judgment of her, deciding to make only small steps at a time out of his shell, until he was sure he could trust her.

Leni quickly developed a view of young Ozzie that he was a sweet enough boy, as shown in his interaction with his pets, but needed to come out of his shell more. She felt that what the little boy needed was to develop some positive relationships with people his own age, to get past the bullying he had suffered in the past. And she knew just the boy to help with that.


	3. Lincoln

The next day, Leni decided to go up to Lincoln, and asked him if he would accompany her to spend time with her new charge.

As he has no plans that day (with Clyde or any of his other friends), Lincoln agreed.

So, he followed her on her walk to the Cobblepots' residence.

Esther opened the door and greeted them curtly.

Leni introduced Lincoln as the brother that she told her about yesterday, telling her that she decided to bring him along to help ease Oswald into the neighborhood.

Esther nodded and let them in, throwing Lincoln a suspicious glare as he came in. Leni brought Lincoln upstairs, where they met Oswald.

Oswald greeted his babysitter politely but was surprised to find a white-haired boy following her.

The boy looked surprised at Oswald's appearance, but became quick to suppress it, not wanting to seem rude.

Leni introduced the boy as her brother, Lincoln. Oswald shyly said hello to the elder boy.

Seeing Oswald's shy disposition, Lincoln decided to break the ice by asking him about his interests and hobbies.

Oswald answered that his day mostly consisted of: tending to his birds, exercising, practicing the violin, and reading poetry.

This gave Leni the idea to maybe also introduce Luna and Lucy to him, due to their shared interests in music and poetry respectively.

Lincoln responded by telling Oswald his interests. He started with comic books, especially his favorite series, the superhero, Ace Savvy. He asked the kid if he owned any comics.

To which Oswald shook his head, explaining that his mother wouldn't let him near such things, saying that only 'fairies' like them.

His wording puzzled both Louds. Lincoln had never heard the term used as a pejorative before, while Leni wondered what magical fairies would do with comic books.

Lincoln decided to change the subject, asking Oswald if he was interested in video games and sci-fi, to which he shook his head.

Due to their seeming lack of anything he had in common with the young Cobblepot, Lincoln was at a loss for what Leni expected him.

Turning to Leni, she decided to simply ask him to spend an hour or two with her and Oswald. Wanting to please her, he agreed.

So, both Louds spent their day at the Cobblepot house, helping Oswald with his birds until Leni decided it was time for her and Lincoln to walk back home.

At the end of the day, both boys were left with mixed feelings about the other.

Lincoln felt that Oswald seemed like a nice enough kid but wondered why Leni seemed so insistent that he spend time with him. From the furniture and amount of pet birds in the house, Lincoln had guessed the Cobblepots to be well off, but there was something about the kid's mother that rubbed him the wrong way. And something about the younger boy seemed shut off and anxious during their conversation at the start.

Then there was Leni telling him on their walk back home that she planned on introducing him to Lynn, Lucy, and Luna later, which left him puzzled at why she wanted this kid she was babysitting to meet her family so much.

Oswald didn't know what to think, wary of growing too comfortable around the strangers. This 'Lincoln' seemed nice, but he still urged himself to be cautious, remembering all the times the school bullies back in Gotham would put on a kind façade to lull him into a trap. Not to mention the whole thing baffled him; his past nannies never introduced their relatives to him, which left him wondering what Ms. Leni was doing.


	4. Lynn & Lucy

That evening, Leni and Lincoln returned home to find dinner ready, with the rest of their family all waiting at the table.

Their mother asked the two where they'd been, showing obvious worry.

Leni told them that she took Lincoln to meet the boy she just started babysitting, one Oswald Cobblepot. This stroked Lola's interest as she was sure she had heard the name before.

This puzzled the family. Why would Leni bring her brother to meet this kid? Especially Lori, who never introduced her family to any of the kids she used to babysit. What was so special about this boy?

Leni explained that she brought Lincoln along to get him to come out of his shell, before asking her sisters if any of them wanted to come along with her the next day.

This confused the girls. Lori decided to speak up, asking why they should? After all, it was Leni's job to watch him, not theirs.

So, Leni decided to share with them what she knew about Oswald's time in Gotham, including how his mother told her how he was bullied. And told them that she felt that they could help him adjust to life in Royal Woods, sweetening the deal by telling them about Ozzie's passion for music, exercise, & poetry. This caused the Louds to soften out of sympathy for him, having all dealt with bullying themselves or having to step in to protect a friend or family member from bullies.

Rita decided to advocate for Leni's plan, but still reprimanded her for not informing her beforehand.

Luna and Luan spoke up, saying that they had a jam session and a gig respectively booked tomorrow, but would be free the next day.

Lynn and Lucy agreed to come along to the Cobblepot residence tomorrow.

The rest of the sisters seemed neutral so far.

The next day, Leni escorted Lynn and Lucy to Oswald's house, where they were let in by Esther.

The trio went up to find Oswald feeding his birds, and Leni introduced Oswald to her two sisters.

Oswald wore a puzzled look on his face as he examined the two girls in front of him: both only a little taller than him, one dressed like a jock, the other looking like a goth.

Lynn in turn examined the kid. He looked a bit chubby, but nothing a little exercise couldn't solve.

Lucy decided to break the ice by reading Oswald one of her poems. By the look on his face as he listened to her, Leni guessed that it was darker than his usual reading, but Oswald, not wanting to upset anyone, complimented the black-haired girl on her poem before telling her one of his favorite nursery rhymes as a child:  
 **"Beware the Court of Owls, that watches all the time,**

 **Ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch, behind granite and lime.**

 **They watch you at your health, they watch you in your bed.**

 **Speak not a whispered word about them or they'll send the Talon for your head."**

Lucy was impressed, but Leni and Lynn couldn't but feel creeped out by it. They inquired Oswald about this 'Court of Owls', to which Oswald answered they're just a myth, a story told to children in Gotham.

Some hell of a bedtime story, Lynn thought.

Oswald further explained that this rhyme made such an impression on him due to its association with birds, pointing out the one owl among his collection of birds. The sisters saw, sitting in its cage, a white owl with black eyes.

Wanting to change to subject, Leni asked Oswald to show them the gym.

So, Oswald escorted them to the gym, where he showed Lynn his exercise equipment.

Lynn, having agreed to help Oswald exercise, decided to start the kid off easy.

When they were finished, it was time for Oswald to bid Leni and her sisters farewell for the day.

Walking home, Lynn and Lucy reflected. They both liked Oswald, Lucy impressed by his taste in poetry, and Lynn being willing to take time out of practice to help him exercise in future weeks, and both sympathizing with him for his past bullying.

Oswald was surprised to meet two more of his babysitter's siblings, but they seemed nice enough.

Meanwhile, back at the Loud house, Lola was in her room alone (Lana was out playing in the mud), looking up information online. She typed in 'Cobblepot' and hit 'search'.

What came up revealed to her that the Cobblepots were an immensely wealthy family, one of the elite of Gotham City. This piqued Lola's interest (before she had little interest in meeting Leni's charge), but now she decided that he and her would become very close friends.

After all, one day, when she was done with pageants, he could be her entry way into high society.


	5. Luna & Luan

Esther heard the doorbell ring, so she walked over and opened it, to see Leni standing on the porch with a big smile on her face. Behind her, stood two more girls: one with a short haircut and a purple shirt with a skull on it (probably a delinquent, Esther assumed), and the other had a ponytail, buck teeth, and braces.

The elder woman gave the young babysitter a stern look, inquiring about the identity of the two girls.

Leni informed Mrs. Cobblepot that the two were her sisters, who she had brought to meet Oswald, to which Esther asked incredulously how many siblings she had.

Leni did not miss a beat before answering that she had ten, which shocked Esther so much she almost fell over.

Esther let them inside the house, but not without feeling wary about what kind of influences this babysitter was bringing to her son.

The trio found Oswald sitting on the living room couch, reading a book. He looked up to see that Leni had brought two more people to meet him.

Leni introduced him to her younger sisters, Luna and Luan. The size of Oswald's nose startled both girls, and Luna's clothing startled Oswald. She looked like one of those rock hooligans his mother always told him not to associate with.

Luna was the first to get over the shock, so she greeted him warmly. Luan, seeing Oswald's nose and black coat, was doing her best to keep any potential jokes to herself (Leni had asked her beforehand to tone down the jokes around the kid, especially about his appearance).

Oswald walked over slowly (out of caution) to Luna and shook her hand. Luan couldn't resist, so she made a crack about him 'waddling like a penguin.'

Hearing the word 'penguin' caused Oswald to freeze in the midst of shaking Luna's hand. His face quickly turned red, and his hand dropped out of Luna's palm.

Luan looked around to see Leni looking at her disapprovingly, and Luna looking down at Oswald with a mixture of confusion and concern.

Leni took her sister aside and lambasted her for hurting 'Ozzie's' feelings. As it was one of the few times she felt Leni was truly furious with her, it stunned Luan.

To try to make amends, Luan went up to Oswald, and held up a mirror to herself and him. She pointed at the mirror, saying that there was a freak in it. Leni was about to let loose on her again when Luan said that the freak had buck teeth and braces.

Luan let out a giddy laugh at her own expense, but noticed Oswald didn't join in. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, telling him that, as the world won't stop making fun of the way he looks, he might as well learn to laugh about it himself.

Leni and Luna knew that their sister meant well with this little speech, but also noticed that Oswald did not seem to take it in, only staring up at her awkwardly.

Deciding to change the subject, Leni asked Oswald if he wanted to show Luna his violin, telling him that she was a musician too.

Oswald looked at Luna, who gave him a kind smile, before leading them into another room in the house.

He took his violin out of its case, but was reluctant to play it, having only ever played it in front of his teacher or his mother.

Luna (who also knew how to play the violin), sensed his hesitance and gently encouraged him to play.

So, it was that all three girls sat down to listen to Oswald playing the violin.

Meanwhile, back at the Loud house, Lola was trying to entice Lana to come with her to meet Leni's wealthy young charge.

Lana showed little interest, even when Lola pointed how many pets the boy could buy her.

So, Lola decided to play her trump card: blackmailing Lana by threatening to tell their mother that it was her that had broken a new glass.

With this, Lana felt she had no choice but to agree to Lola's plan.

Lola let out a laugh of satisfaction. Lola Loud always gets what she wants.

Responses

 **To nightmaster000:**

 **No. Oswald will not be paired with any of the sisters. Their relationships with him will all be platonic and like siblings.**

 **Several episodes will be referenced. And the character traits (positive and negative) of all of the girls will be examined to show Oswald go through upsides and downsides in his interactions with them.**

 **This story will see the Louds interact with many characters from throughout the Batman mythos and media.**

 **To UJ-1A:**

 **-No, but there will be Superman characters appearing later on in this story.**


	6. Dinner with the Louds

Leni, Luna, and Luan came home just in time for dinner. They walked into the dining room and took their seats at the adults' table.

Their parents asked how their day was, to which Luna and Luan talked about how much fun they had meeting Ozzie.

Lynn also spoke up about how nice the kid was, leaving Lori wondering what was so special about this Cobblepot boy?

Feeling that it would help in getting Oswald to open up more, Leni decided to ask her parents if it would be okay to bring Oswald over to their house for dinner, surprising everyone at the table. Rita decided to give permission as long as Oswald's mother agreed.

After dinner was done, Lola rushed to corner Leni in the hallway, telling her excitedly that she and Lana wished to meet Oswald to make friends with him. Surprised but touched by her little sister's seeming kindness, Leni told her that she was planning on bringing him over for dinner soon, and then she could meet him. This left Lola in anxious anticipation.

The next day, in between watching over Oswald, Leni decided to leave him to his feeding the birds to approach Esther, asking if she could talk with her. After a moment of surprise, her employer acquiesced.

Leni asked her if she could bring Oswald over to her house to meet the rest of her family and have dinner with them. Esther was reluctant, fearing it would overwhelm him, but Leni managed to convince her that it would be good for Oswald's development.

That evening, Leni walked Oswald (who brought his umbrella with him) to her house. As they approached the door, Leni sensed Oswald was nervous, so she gently assured him that it would be alright as her family was some of the nicest people in the world.

Leni opened the door and stepped into the living room (with Oswald following right behind her before setting his umbrella down next to the door), where her family was waiting. Lincoln, Lucy, Lynn, Luan, and Luna all greeted Oswald warmly.

Leni took the time to introduce Oswald to her remaining siblings, starting with Lori who took a moment to look up from her phone to greet him before putting her head back down, showing disinterest in him. Then, Lola rushed to greet him, gushing about all the wonderful things that her siblings had said about him, leaving Oswald feeling flattered and a little flushed. Lana greeted Oswald in a friendly enough manner, though, seeing the mud on her hands, he decided not to shake her hand. Lisa acknowledged Oswald politely, though something about the 4-year old's stiff demeanor left Oswald a little surprised. Last but not least, there was baby Lily, who smiled at Oswald (who was not used to being around babies at all).

Rita entered the living room to tell her children that dinner was ready when she noticed Oswald. While Lincoln and the girls walked into the kitchen, Rita walked over to the short boy and introduced herself to him. Oswald shook her hand, greeting her politely, before heading into the kitchen.

As the day was Thursday, dinner was goulash. Seeing Oswald, Lynn Sr. greeted him warmly before handing him a plate and pointing him in the direction of the kids' table where Lincoln, Lucy, Lana, Lola, Lisa, and Lily sat.

Lola, with a huge smile, insisted that Oswald sit next to her. She would spend the entire dinner, gushing about the Cobblepot family fortune, which Lincoln and Lana also did, though not to Lola's extent, though this left Oswald feeling unease, knowing that his family's finance had long since shrunk from his glory days, though he tried to keep up a dignified front.

Oswald enjoyed the goulash but noticed that everyone sitting around bore a bored expression as they ate their dinner.

Throughout the dinner, Oswald couldn't help but wonder what his life would be like if he had siblings.

Once finished with his goulash, Oswald stood up, grabbed his plate, and took it to the sink, rinsing it off. Then, he walked over to the adults' table and thanked Lynn Sr. for the meal. Rita told him he could watch tv in the living room to wait while they finished.

Oswald went into the living room and was about to sit down on the couch when he saw Walt, the family's pet canary, perched on the stairs. Curious, he approached and held out his finger, which Walt flew out to perch on. Oswald then used another finger to pet its peak lightly.

Once dinner was done, Lori volunteered to drive Oswald home. After saying goodbye to the Louds, Oswald collected his umbrella and got into the van.

Lori dropped him off in front of his house. He thanked Lori for the ride, who gave him a nod in return before driving off.

As he walked up to the door, Oswald reflected on the evening. He felt he liked Leni's family, who all seemed so nice, though his family's finances being brought up caused him some anxiety.

He went inside his house, where his mother greeted him with a kiss on the forehead before sending him to bed.


	7. Jogging with an Umbrella

Now that Oswald was introduced to the rest of the Louds, Leni thought it would now be okay for any of her siblings to hang out with him.

For several days, Leni brought one or more of them to his house where they spent time together.

One of the major factors that won Oswald to the favor of the remaining Louds was how quickly Lily grew to like him.

Lori felt that Oswald was a nice enough kid, but still had little interest in getting to know him, thinking that it was still Leni's job to take care of him, and not the whole family's'.

Rita and Lynn Sr. thought that he seemed like a good boy. Polite, kind.

Lana liked him for how easily he bonded with the family pets, especially Walt.

Lola was insistent in coming over to his house to grow closer to him, though she decided to tone down asking about the family fortune to avoid suspicion.

Lisa remained neutral to him, having been preoccupied with her experiments.

Today, it was decided that Lynn would take Oswald on a jog with Lincoln and Clyde.

Leni asked Lori if she wanted to come along to the Cobblepot residence, but she declined, having made plans with Bobby.

Lynn went up to Oswald's house and was let in by Esther. Though Mrs. Cobblepot knew all of the Louds by now, she was still curt with them.

Oswald ran up to greet her, holding his umbrella.

Lynn asked Oswald why he was bringing his umbrella along as there was not a single cloud in the sky that day.

This caused Oswald to begin to panic. He still remembered the thrashing his mother gave him the last time he left the house without an umbrella.

Thinking quickly, he exclaimed that it would be better to be safe than sorry.

Lynn was surprised by his tone, but catching Esther's glare, decided that to press the issue, so off they went.

On the way, Lynn couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. Why was Ozzie being so insistent that he bring an umbrella? And what was with the look that old crone was giving her?

But, seeing how upset and nervous Oswald seemed, Lynn decided it could wait, allowing him to calm down by the time they reached the rendezvous point near the elementary school.

However, when they reached the meetup spot, Lynn spotted something that made her blood boil. Lincoln and Clyde were being accosted by three ruffians.

Clyde was lying on the ground with a black eye, his glasses knocked off. Lincoln bent down to help him up only for one of the youths to kick him in the stomach.

Lynn rushed forward, and, in a few moments, it was the bullies that were lying on their backs, groaning in pain. She quickly helped Lincoln and Clyde back to their feet while the bullies got up and ran off. One of them said that he would get his older brother to come after her for this, but Lynn just brushed it off as hot air.

Lynn handed Clyde his glasses before looking back to see Oswald staring at them. Witnessing the bullying had triggered a flashback to his own trauma back in Gotham. But he was relieved that those bullies were gone now. He just wished that back then, he had a big sibling like Lynn to protect him back then.

He approached the trio. Lincoln, realizing that Oswald hadn't met Clyde yet, introduced them both.

Clyde said that he had to leave, else 'his dads' would be worried sick. This utterance caused Oswald to raise an eyebrow in surprise, but he kept his mouth shut to not ruin his standing with this nice family. Only telling Clyde it was nice to meet him before he left.

After making sure they were okay, Lynn brought the two boys on their jog.

It was a long jog, which left them all sweating by the end of it. Lincoln wondered why Oswald had brought his umbrella along, but Oswald only gave him the same answer he gave Lynn.

Lynn announced she was going to take Oswald back to his house. Lincoln said goodbye to Oswald and went home.

On the walk back to Oswald's house, Lynn decided to ask what was bothering him so much about the umbrella.

Not wanting to say anything that would incriminate his mother, Oswald told her that his worst fear was dying of pneumonia like his father.

Lynn decided to leave it at that, parting ways with Oswald on his porch.

He went inside where his mother, pleased that he had his umbrella with him, directed him to the kitchen where he found soup on the stove.

That and some water to cool down after a long day of exercise.


	8. A Rainy Day

One of the bullies that Lynn beat up, one Derek Jenkins, went home complaining to his older brother, Arthur (a delinquent recently suspended at Royal Woods High for fighting). Arthur listened to his kid brother, mocked him for losing to a girl, but still decided to help him out by seeking retribution on this Lynn Loud.

So, he enlisted his friend, fellow delinquent, Oscar Montez, to help him out to get revenge.

One day, Lynn took Oswald out to the local basketball court to shoot some hoops. It was a rough start, but Oswald was beginning to get the hang of it when it began to rain.

Oswald took out his umbrella and opened it to cover him and Lynn. Maybe his mom had the right idea about this umbrella, Lynn thought.

They were about to leave when Jenkins and Montez arrived.

Jenkins was planning on only giving Lynn a warning to leave his brother alone. But, Montez recognized Oswald from the newspapers about the rich kid who recently moved to the neighborhood from Gotham and thought that it could be an excellent chance to mug him for any cash he had on him.

Montez let Jenkins in on his plan, though his friend had some reservations about picking on such a small kid.

Seeing the two thugs approach them, Lynn became nervous, telling Oswald to get behind her.

Montez told them to both give them their money. Lynn told him that neither of them had any money to give, which Montez disbelieved.

Thinking she was lying, Montez walked up and punched the smaller girl in the face, knocking her to the ground.

Oswald sprang to defend her by punching Montez in the stomach, but it only irritated Montez into punching him, knocking on his back on the concrete. Montez began kicking Oswald in the stomach when Jenkins, stunned by what his friend was doing, pulled him off the kid.

By this time, Lynn had managed to get up and gave Montez a hard kick to the groin. Montez let out a moan of pain while being pulled away by Jenkins.

While the two thugs fled, Lynn then rushed to Oswald's side, asking if he was okay. Concerned when she got no response, she took out her cell phone and called 911 for an ambulance.

So, it was that Lynn waited for help to arrive, while rain poured down. Oswald lying unconscious while Lynn held the umbrella over him.

In a few minutes, an ambulance arrived to take Oswald to the hospital, with Lynn accompanying.

A half hour later, Leni was cleaning her dresses when her phone rang. Checking it, she learned Lynn was calling her. Expecting her to talk about her day with Oswald at the basketball court, she turned it on.

Lynn told her older sister that they were ambushed at the court, and that Oswald was in the hospital.

Horrified and filled with concern, Leni rushed to Lori, asking her for a ride to the hospital.

When told what happened, Lori agreed without hesitation.


	9. At the Hospital

Lori and Leni rushed to the hospital, where they found Lynn waiting in a chair, looking very concerned.

At their exclamation of her name, Lynn's eyes shot up to see her sisters running towards her.

Lynn jumped out of the chair, ran to them, and gave them both a tight hug that they returned.

Leni asked about Oswald's condition, to which Lynn answered that the doctors told her that he had injuries on his head and leg but would recover.

Inside Lori and Leni was a lust for vengeance on the two thugs responsible, but there would be a time for that later. Right now, the priority was Oswald.

Leni, realizing that Esther did not yet know what happened to her son, took out her phone to call her. But there was no answer. Leni resolved to call again in a couple of minutes.

Both teens went into the room to see Oswald. He was lying in a bed, sleeping.

Leni went up to his side and nudged his shoulder. He slowly opened his eyes to find his babysitter standing over him.

Leni asked if the boy was okay. Oswald responded by nodding his head.

The babysitter was heartbroken to see her charge hurt like this.

Lori asked if she could get him anything, concerned.

Leni made several more tries to reach Esther, with still no success. It puzzled Leni. Where was she? What could she be doing that was more important than this?

There was a knock on the door. It opened to reveal a doctor wearing a grim look, telling everyone that two police officers were here to speak with them.

Here about the assaults, Lori and Leni assumed.

Leni assured Oswald that they would be right back before walking out of the room with her sister.

Before them (and next to Lynn) stood two officers of the Royal Woods Police Department.

The officers asked the girls who they were. Leni answered that she was Oswald's babysitter and the other two were her sisters.

The two cops reluctantly shared their news: Esther Cobblepot was dead.

Leni and Lori had to sit down from the shock.

The cops told them what happened: a neighbor witnessed two males flee the Cobblepot residence, so they called the police. The police entered the house where they found Mrs. Cobblepot dead. It was believed that the motive was burglary as there were several missing objects.

Lori asked if they could be the ones to tell Oswald, wanting to break the news gently, feeling heartbroken for the poor boy who was now alone in the world.

The cops acquiesced, so the two teens went back into the room.

Oswald watched Leni and Lori enter the room, but caught a sunken feeling just from looking at the faces.

Leni approached the bedside and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Lori told him what happened. The words were too much for Oswald to bear. His mother, gone? It couldn't be…

Tears began to flow from Oswald's eyes. As he sobbed, Leni hugged him fiercely. Lori couldn't help but join in on the hug, his tears getting both of their clothes wet.

Lynn peered into the room and saw both of her eldest sisters comfort the orphan.


	10. Tragedy in Royal Woods

Rita was walking home from her shift at the dental office when she passed by the Cobblepots' house and was stunned to see police cars there.

As she approached the scene, she witnessed a body being taken out. Her heart missed a beat. It was too large to be Oswald, so could it be?

She approached one of the nearby officers and asked him what happened. She was told that there was a break-in and that Esther Cobblepot was found dead at the scene after a neighbor reported seeing two men flee the house.

Rita was horrified; her thoughts quickly switched to Oswald, wondering if he knew yet, right before she remembered that, today, Lynn was going to take Oswald to the basketball court. She called Lynn and was met with a sob as her daughter informed her what happened at the court. Rita decided to head to the hospital.

Meanwhile, Derek Jenkins was struggling with a guilty conscience. After he and Oscar left the court, Oscar decided that he would break into the Cobblepot crib and steal valuables. Derek helped him to break in, but then Esther caught them.

Caught by surprise, Oscar tackled the woman and bashed her head against the floor, much to Derek's horror. Derek was further horrified when the woman stopped moving. The duo then fled the house, agreeing to split up.

Now, Derek was in his bedroom, pondering the events of the past day. That kid, he was now an orphan because of him. Derek couldn't bear the guilt. So, he dialed the police, before telling them that he wanted to turn himself in…

Rita rushed to the hospital where she found Lori, Leni, and Lynn sitting outside Oswald's room. All three girls got up to embrace their mother before filling her in on what had happened.

The Loud matriarch braced herself as she entered the room. There, Oswald was sitting up in the bed, his head and leg feeling better, but his heart still broken from the news of his mother's murder.

Oswald was surprised to see Mrs. Loud in his room. He greeted her politely as she approached his bedside. She pulled him into a hug, cradling his head.

The hug was interrupted when Lori entered the room to announce that the cops had now identified the two suspects.

Word had reached from the police station that one of the suspects, one Derek Jenkins, had confessed and implicated his friend, Oscar Montez. Lori and Leni were shocked (they knew both boys by reputation in high school); they knew those two were bad news, but never thought they'd be murderers. Upon being shown pictures of them, Lynn spoke up that those were the two thugs who assaulted her and Oswald at the basketball court earlier.

With the two culprits in custody, Rita's thoughts turned to what would happen to Oswald. There was no way he could handle returning to his house, and she didn't feel right about leaving him alone at the hospital tonight.

So, she decided to ask Oswald if he wanted to spend the night at the Loud house, to which Oswald agreed.

Leni helped Oswald out of the bed, through the hospital, and into Vanzilla. There, while waiting for the others, she kept a comforting hand on Oswald's own.

Back at the house, Lynn Sr., having just received the news from a phone call from his wife, decided to share it with the rest of his children. All of them were horrified, a murder happening in their own neighborhood. Not to mention, feeling horrible for Oswald.

When Oswald was brought into the house (helped in by Leni), the siblings had somber expressions on their faces. All of them gave him their condolences, and some even offered comforting hugs.

Unlike most evenings at the Loud house, it was a quiet one, with no yelling or roughhousing. Instead, after having dinner, the siblings all went upstairs to get ready for bed.

That was when it occurred to Leni: where was Oswald going to sleep? She decided to help him upstairs and offer to let him use her bed.

Oswald was touched by the gesture, but reluctant to accept until Leni insisted.

So it was that Oswald Cobblepot slowly went to sleep, his babysitter by his side to comfort him, on this, the worst night of his life.


	11. The Funeral

For the next few days, the Louds tried their best to tone down their usual antics around Oswald as he was staying at their house.

Even Lola had better taste than to bother someone when he was going through a tragedy like losing one's mother.

And now, the day was the day of Esther's funeral. The Louds suited up more formally than they were used to as they would be accompanying Oswald to the funeral.

They arrived at the church (that was holding the ceremony) right on time. The Louds sat in the front pew, with Oswald sitting in-between Leni and Lincoln.

All of Gotham's First Families had flown in from Gotham to attend. Have to keep up appearances, Oswald cynically reasoned. From the Waynes (whom Esther loathed), Phillip Wayne and his younger brother, Dr. Thomas Wayne. From the Elliots, Roger and his wife, Marla. Marla came from new money, something which caused quite a scandal in the social scene among Gotham's elite. From the Kanes, Jacob and his younger sister, Martha.

And then there was the ones Oswald dreaded the most to see: the Crownes. For it was the Crowne boy, George, that was the one who Oswald got expelled from school in Gotham for fighting with. The one who killed that poor, helpless bird out of nothing but his own sadism.

However, Oswald was relieved to see young George was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps Mr. and Mrs. Sebastian Crowne were tactful enough to not bring the schoolyard bully to an event like this.

It was hard for Oswald to look at his mother-the most important person in his life- in that casket. Tears were dripping from his face through the service.

But he was not alone. Leni kept squeezing his hand to comfort him and Lincoln kept patting him on the shoulder gently. Not to mention the rest of the Louds sitting with him in the pew.

Once the service was done, the casket was carried out by the pallbearers and placed into the hearse where it would be taken to the burial site.

The First Family folks stepped up to give Oswald their condolences.

The Crownes did so coldly. Oswald attributed it to them being upset with Oswald for beating their son, not that he regretted that for even a minute.

The Elliots were friendlier, especially Mrs. Elliot, always eager to ingratiate with a prince of Gotham, however his appearance. But the Louds were disturbed to smell whiskey in Roger's breath and the way he leered at some of the older girls before leaving.

Mr. Kane greeted him friendly while Martha knelt down and gave the young boy a maternal hug, before telling him that if there was ever anything Oswald needed to come to her. Oswald was touched by this gesture, feeling it a quite comfort, similar to how he'd been feeling around Mrs. Loud for the past couple of days.

And finally, there were the Waynes. The two people the deceased hated most in life. Oswald became tense as he saw them walk up to him.

Phillip and Dr. Wayne shook his hand warmly, telling him things similar to what Miss Kane just told him.

Oswald was surprised by how genuine their kindness seemed but kept his guard up as his mother told him to do if he ever had to socialize with the Waynes.

As the family started to leave, Lynn Sr. and Rita began to wonder what they could do for Oswald. They couldn't just leave him in the foster system, but could they afford another child in their house.

That's when they remembered that Oswald had an inheritance, which his legal guardians would be responsible for, to use for his needs.

Maybe that could work, they thought.

In a private discussion later that night, the Loud parents agreed that they would adopt Oswald.


	12. Inheiritance

Rita and Lynn Sr. sat down with Esther's attorney in his office. They told him that they were planning on becoming Oswald's legal guardians.

The attorney informed that that meant that they would be overseeing the boy's inheiritance.

Both were surprised by the amount, though nothing for middle class people like them to scoff at, it being much smaller than they expected from one of Gotham's wealthy families. The attorney explained that the Cobblepots lost the bulk of the fortune in bad investments.

The remaining amount was being used to finance: Esther and Oswald's living expenses, Oswald's education, & taking care of their many pet birds.

Later, after they had had dinner, the Louds sat their children down in the living room (Oswald being upstairs). They told them about their plan to adopt Oswald, and all of them agreed enthusiastically. It was agreed that the Louds would have to purchase a new bed for him (he would sleep in Lincoln's bedroom).

Rita went to the staircase and called Oswald down.

Having just finished brushing his teeth, Oswald went down the stairs when Leni rushed him, squeezing him into a hug. Which was then joined by all ten other siblings.

Oswald was confused by all this until Rita explained that she and Mr. Loud wanted to adopt him before asking if he wanted to be a part of their family.

Feeling nervous at being the center of attention (all of the Louds smiling at him), Oswald agreed, prompting the family to cheer.

The next day, Oswald decided to bring up to Mrs. Loud something that he had been concerned about: what would happen to all of his birds. Rita was conflicted: there was no room in the house for all of his birds, plus the pets that they already had, but reluctant to hurt the boy's feelings. So, she sat him down, gently telling him that, due to space problems, the Louds could only take in one of his birds, and she was giving him a choice of which to pick.

Oswald was disappointed; he loved all of his birds but didn't lash out at the matriarch of the family that had treated him so kindly. He decided to pick his owl, which he named Chester, after his middle-name Chesterfield.

Though when Chester was first brought into the house, it did unnerve several of the Louds with its black eyes (and intimidate Walt due to it being larger), it quickly took to its new surroundings in the Loud House.


	13. Day 1

**February 2016**

Oswald got up out of bed, noticing that Lincoln had already awaken and was gone. Exiting the room, he saw that there was a line to the bathroom, with Lana in dead last.

After a while, Oswald got his chance and prepared for the day ahead.

He went downstairs to the living room where the sisters decided to let him have the remote and decide what to watch on the tv. He chose a nature documentary about hummingbirds.

Lori was on her phone, texting her boyfriend. Leni was upstairs, trying out the clothes in her closet. Luna was preparing to leave for a comedy session with her band. Luan was practicing her act with her puppet, Mr. Coconuts for an upcoming gig. Lynn was outside exercising in preparation for a big game.

Lincoln was upstairs, listening to Lucy recite one of her poems. Lola was putting on her makeup. Lisa was testing one of her experiments, and Lily was taking a nap.

Of the sisters, only Lana was interested in watching the nature documentary with Oswald. She was sitting next to him on the couch, fascinated by the narration's details about the birds' lifestyle. When commercials came on, she would ask Oswald for more details about birds, which he was only too happy to provide, relieved to be able to discuss his passion of ornithology, which, for a moment, eased his mind away from the recent tragedy.

The Loud parents-still Mr. and Mrs. Loud to him- passed by their children while exiting the house to leave for work-Rita as the assistant to a dentist and Lynn Sr. as an IT worker.

In the afternoon, Clyde came over to hang out with Lincoln. He paused when he saw Oswald sitting on the couch, so he went over and gave him his condolences for what had happened to his mother. Oswald thanked him for the gesture before returning his attention to the television.

Clyde then went up the stairs to chat with Lincoln. Probably about comics, Oswald assumed, still having no interest in this 'Ace Savvy' or any other such material.

Tonight, the Louds had ordered a pizza. Plain cheese, twelve-cut. Usually, the Loud kids would fight over who would get the last remaining slice, but Oswald's inclusion to the family evened it out.

Oswald enjoyed the pizza, then went upstairs to wash up before bed. He bid goodnight to the rest of the family, then went into his room to get into bed.

He was under the covers when Lincoln entered and got into his own bed. Lincoln looked down on his sleeping new little brother, hoping that he enjoyed his first official day as part of a larger family than he ever imagined he would be in.


	14. Get the Message

One day, the twins came home with news from school: they had just been made the new hall monitors. The Loud parents also had news: they announced that they would enroll Oswald into Royal Woods Elementary's second grade. Though Oswald (remembering the bullying he had suffered in school back in Gotham) showed some fear at this, the sisters (plus Lincoln) reassured him that this time, he had seven older siblings to watch out for him if he faced any trouble from his classmates.

On the day before he was to start school, Oswald awoke to the sound of Luna practicing in the hallway. Her guitar blared through the upstairs hallway. He saw Lincoln get out of bed with a groan before heading out of the room.

Oswald got up, got dressed, then went out into the hallway, where Luna was continuing to strum her guitar and posing like a Rockstar in the middle of a concert. Luna stopped to look at him, smile, before continuing with her tune. Deciding to get away from the noise, Oswald went downstairs and opened the front door, stepping outside.

There, he saw Lana playing in the mud next to a girl and boy in their age range. Lana noticed Oswald's presence and gestured for him to come over. She introduced him to her friends, Amy Hunkel and Morty Jibbet.

Amy was a girl about the twins' height. She had brown hair and pigtails.

Morty had blonde hair, similar to the twins.

Both children were covered in mud. Oswald hesitated to shake their hands, lest he get his clothes dirty, but did not wish to be rude. So, he made a mental note to put his clothes in the laundry basket later.

Lana introduced him as her brother, before asking him why he was outside so early in the morning, which was unlike how he usually was in his time at the Loud house. Oswald answered that he came outside to get some peace and quiet, away from Luna's noise.

Lana asked if he wanted to play with them. Oswald was reluctant, but upon being confronted by Lana's puppy-dog eyes and pout, gave a groan before acquiescing, unable to resist her. So, he sat down with them, next to the mud, asking what games they wished to play.

Morty showed that he had brought a ball, so they decided to play catch. On the yard, the four kids began throwing the ball between each other. Despite his initial reservations, Oswald found himself having genuine fun, something rare when he had interacted with kids his own age.

But this merriment came to a sudden stop when Lola bellowed for Lana to come inside. Oswald was surprised at this tone he hadn't heard from the pageant girl before. Looking upon their faces, he saw traces of fear in his new friends' eyes. Lana sheepishly apologized before running inside.

After some awkwardness, the three kids continued their game. Leni went outside and, upon seeing them, paused before smiling, happy that Ozzie was getting out of his shell. She walked along, greeting them before continuing on walking the sidewalk.

Out of curiosity, Oswald asked the two how they felt about birds, bringing up that he had a pet owl and offered to show them him. The two grew huge smiles on their faces and nodded.

Oswald went back inside and marched up the steps. There he saw Lola and Lana, dressed in orange-and-yellow jackets and wearing sunglasses standing in front of Luna and Luan's room. They admonished him for his pace before explaining that they were practicing being hall monitors and had just punished Luan for telling bad jokes. Oswald thought they were joking until Lola opened the door and gestured inside. There, he saw Luan sitting depressed inside a cardboard box.

Oswald was struggling to think up a response when Lori's yell caused all three to cringe in surprise. They looked in the direction of Lori and Leni's room (the door was open) and heard Lori yell that if Lincoln came into her room again, she was going to turn him into a 'human pretzel'. They heard a kick and then witnessed Lincoln fly out into the hallway, landing on the floor on his back before the door slammed shut. Lana whispered in Oswald's ear to continue on his business.

Oswald went up into the attic to get Chester but could not shake the scene from his mind. In all his time with the Louds, he never once thought that they practiced physical discipline. Like his mother did.

He had a flashback: he had just gotten home from school and there was his mother standing in front of him with a furious look in her eye. Gripping his umbrella.

She stepped forward, raised the umbrella in her hand, then struck him in the shoulder with it, knocking him on the floor.

Another strike, and another. All while, she raged at him. How could he forget his umbrella? What if it had rained? Did he want to catch sick and die like his father had?

Once convinced the thrashing was enough, Esther's rage faded, her face becoming calmer. She ordered the servants to have lunch prepared for young master Oswald. It was some comfort to Oswald, knowing that, after his punishment, there could still be forgiveness.

But he would not forget the lesson. And how much of a reckless, thoughtless boy he had been that day, to have upset his dear mother so. And how, she had done this because it was necessary, for his own good.

At the memory of his mother, Oswald choked up as her approached Chester's cage. The only bird that he had left. He stuck his finger inside and pecked the owl's beak.

Once calmed down, Oswald picked up the cage, and left the attic. Upstairs, he saw that Lana and Lola, still dressed as hall monitors, were chasing down the hamster Geo who was rolling his ball down the hall. Passing by his and Lincoln's room, he glimpsed Lincoln and Clyde talking, but ignored it.

He went downstairs and back outside. There, he presented Chester to his new friends. Both seemed fascinated by the owl. Morty reached out the pet it, but Oswald advised against it, noting that the owl was usually wary of strangers and might peck his finger.

Once done, he bid farewell to Amy and Morty before bringing Chester back inside. In the living room was Lori laying on the couch with her phone (remembering the earlier outburst, Oswald decided to move by her without saying anything to her; she didn't seem to notice him, too distracted with her phone).

Going up the stairs, he passed by Clyde, who was holding a paper towel to his nose. Oswald was stunned to see blood on the towel and to see blood on the floor. Maybe the boy had gotten on Lori's bad side, he assumed, she did seem annoyed whenever he was mentioned. Oswald made sure to step clear of the blood as he continued onto the attic.

Oswald placed Chester's cage back in the attic and sat next to it, reflecting on the day. For the chaos it had, it did somewhat reassure Oswald that he could make friends here. And he hoped that those friendships would be true ones.

He was about to head back to his room, passing by Lincoln who had a relieved look on his face, when he saw Lori open the bathroom door, with a furious look on her face and holding a yellow piece of paper. She yelled at Lincoln, demanding to know the meaning of the paper. Lincoln ran down the stairs, followed by Lori chasing right behind him.

Exhausted from the day he had, Oswald retreated to his room, hoping that the next day would be more peaceful.


	15. Project Loud House

Today was the big day: Oswald's first day at Royal Woods Elementary. But it was also major day for the other Loud siblings: Lincoln had to turn in an assignment, Lana & Lola were beginning as hall monitors, Lynn was starting out hockey, Luna had a band rehearsal to get to, and Lori was having a date with her boyfriend, Bobby that night.

Oswald was woken up early by Lincoln, who showed him his project: a diorama of all his siblings (including Oswald himself, the newest addition to the family). Lincoln told Oswald that he planned to get all their sisters out the door as soon as possible for fear that their recklessness might destroy his project, asking for Oswald's help in the matter.

Oswald agreed, to which Lincoln asked to borrow his umbrella. Confused, Oswald handed it over. Lincoln opened the umbrella before opening the door. Water fell upon the umbrella, much to Oswald's surprise, leaving Lincoln dry. Lincoln peered to Luna and Luan's room, where Luan stuck her head out with a disappointed sigh, vowing to get him later. Lincoln turned back to Oswald, pointing out that his point about the sisters' destructiveness had just been proven.

Lincoln stepped out of the room to find several sisters in need of help, which he decided to split with Oswald.

Lola and Lana were in their room fighting over a dollar bill they had just found. Oswald entered their room and gave them another dollar. That way, both would have one dollar each. The twins thanked Oswald, who then moved on. Meanwhile, Lincoln had to help Lucy fix one of her poems to get her ready.

No sooner had he finished with Lucy, then Lynn told him that she was having trouble finding her rollerskates. Yet another problem that needed to be fixed.

Oswald checked in on Lily, who had just woken up and started smiling when she saw her new brother. Oswald tickled Lily under the chin, causing the baby to giggle.

After helping Lynn find her rollerskates, Lincoln had to help Lisa finish one of her potions while Oswald helped Leni find her acne cream.

But when Leni applied the cream, Oswald was shocked when he saw her skin turn to a shade of light blue. Leni noticed the concern on Oswald's face and asked him what was wrong. Unable to put it into words, Oswald pointed at a mirror. Looking upon her new appearance, Leni let out a scream.

Hearing the scream, the Loud siblings turned to look at Leni in shock. Lincoln gave a glare to Lisa, asking what she had done. Lisa calmly explained that she had switched the acne cream with one of her experiments purely to see if it would work. Hearing this, Oswald was dismayed at the girl for experimenting on her family members, to which Lisa remained unmoved.

Exasperated, Lincoln demanded that Lisa fix Leni quick when Lori walked out of her room, on the phone with Bobby while walking downstairs.

Downstairs, all of the kids had eggs for breakfast. Leni came down once her skin was back to normal and joined in.

Then, it was off to the car. Rita got into the drivers' seat. The girls began gathering inside. Oswald stepped outside and was surprised to see a large man with a nose ring and a leather jacket packing objects into the back. Luna was sitting next to the man, holding her guitar.

Oswald approached Luna, who introduced the man as her roadie, Chunk, who was packing her gear for her rehearsal. Chunk tipped his hat to the young boy, who responded with a nod, before getting in the car.

Lincoln rushed outside carrying his project and then they were off.

The first stop was Royal Woods Elementary. Lincoln, Lucy, the twins, and Lisa got off. The others gave Oswald some words of encouragement before he followed them out.

Lincoln escorted Oswald to his classroom before moving on.

Oswald steeled himself before entering the classroom, preparing for mockery and ridicule. But, instead, as the teacher introduced him, he could only see pity on the faces of his classmates. Word of what had happened to his mother had spread fast through Royal Woods.

Oswald had mixed feelings about this. Though not as harsh as his time in Gotham, he, the last remaining Cobblepot, felt ill at ease at being pitied.

After the class was finished, Oswald went to the library, curious about what books it contained. He picked out a book on birds and looked for a place to sit down.

He noticed that one blond-haired boy, even shorter than him, was sitting by himself at a table. Oswald decided to approach him and ask if he could sit down there. The boy looked up and nodded before returning attention to his book.

Oswald recognized the book as Lewis Carroll's classic, 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland', a book that he had read before. So, deciding to break the ice with a potential friend, Oswald commented on the book, saying that he loved it. The boy's face lit up at this.

Oswald introduced himself, to which the boy gave his own name, Jervis Tetch.

Once school was done, the Loud kids met up to wait to be picked up. Lincoln was happy to announce that he had been given an A for his project. The twins enjoyed being hall monitors. Lisa, the young genius, was bored by the curriculum in her class. And Oswald was happy to have made a friend on his first day of school, which he shared with the rest of the Louds later, much to their joy.


	16. Attention Deficit

It was an ordinary day at Royal Woods Elementary when Oswald and Jervis headed into the cafeteria, carrying their lunch bags, as it was lunch time. They saw Lana sitting next to Amy and Morty at a table, so Oswald suggested that they sit with them. After taking a little convincing for the shy Jervis, the two boys walked over to the table where Oswald introduced Jervis to the three of them and vice-versa.

Lana looked up from her meal and cheerfully greeted her brother's friend, which Jervis meekly responded to. Sitting down, Oswald asked where Lola was. Lana sighed before pointing at a table at the other side of the room, where Lola was sitting, surrounded by several girls chatting with her.

Lana explained that, usually, Lola does not sit with her twin. Then, seeking to change the subject, she began asking Jervis about his hobbies, trying to break the ice with this boy she had heard so much about. Jervis only gave vague details about what he liked to do for fun, like reading and dressing up.

By the end of the school-day, Lincoln had been given an assignment to make a model volcano. And Oswald had homework to do also.

That night, it was decided that kids would have frozen dinners. Oswald was having his while observing a house in chaos: the living room was a complete mess, Lola and Lisa were fighting over their dinners, etc. Lincoln was sitting at the kiddie table, working on his project when Rita came up and handed him his dinner.

Lincoln thanked his mother before asking for help with his volcano, but Rita first had to help Leni put on her makeup correctly (she had red-colored lipstick around her eyes and blue-colored eye-liner on her lips, making her resemble a clown), escorting the young lady upstairs.

Lynn Sr. was out practicing Lynn Jr. for baseball season, one of several sports that she was currently trying out for.

Rita brought Leni back down-this time her face a little better, but still messy-but before Lincoln could ask for help again, Rita sat down to help Lori with a quiz inside a magazine issue.

Oswald witnessed this and Lincoln's reaction (his facial expression showing signs of frustration building up). He understood that the Loud parents, with eleven (and now twelve), they had little time to spend with each child individually.

Oswald had mixed feelings about this: though a part of him did long to spend time with Mr. Loud (having not had a father for years (and who, even when alive, barely spent time with him), he still felt uncomfortable around Mrs. Loud, or at least thinking of her as _his_ mother.

Lynn Sr. came back from baseball practice with Jr., but immediately went to play the saxophone with Luna, leaving Lincoln to sigh and wonder how he was supposed to get his project done.

The next night, it was chaos again, only even worse as the parents were out at dinner. Lori had taken Lily up to be changed while Luan was hitting Lola in the face with a pie. And Lynn, despite Dad's rules, was throwing her football around the house. Oswald was trying to get used to the chaos, but gaped in horror when he saw Lisa carrying, with tongs, a teddy bear that seemed to be glowing with radiation.

He stopped her, asking what she was doing. Lisa ignored her adoptive sibling, only rushing to her room with her experiment.

Lincoln stepped into the house, and Lynn began conversing with him. But Oswald's attention was taken by the sound of an explosion upstairs. The siblings rushed upstairs to find a shaken Lori holding Lily in the hallway. In her room, they found Lisa standing with dust on her face, with smoke around her. As they opened the room's window to get the smoke out, Lisa only noted stoically that her experiment had been a failure.

It was going to take some time to get used to this kind of madness, Oswald knew.

The next day, Oswald was playing outside with Lana when Luna, having just left a jam session, stopped by to check on her little bro and sis. Right after, she met with Lincoln and Lynn as they came home on the porch, but the two kids were too distracted with their game to listen.

After their game, Oswald and Lana went inside to wash up. Heading upstairs, they saw that the rest of the sisters, besides Luna, were gathered in front of the bathroom door, listening to something. Getting closer, they heard Luna sing about getting undivided attention from Clyde's dads when she'll head to their home after school.

When her shower was done, Luna walked out, toweled, to find almost all of her siblings staring at her, mouth agape. She gulped, realizing she had let the secret loose.

The sisters, realizing this could be their chance to get more attention, planned to head over to Clyde's place with Luna. But not Oswald. Oswald realized that this could be a chance to get a quiet night, just for him.

So, the sisters, including Lily, were preparing to leave, but Leni decided to relent, reluctant to leave Oswald home by himself. Before she left, Lucy came up from behind Oswald and told him, spooking him in the process, to treasure the chance to spend time with their parents.

Then, there was only Leni and Oswald in the house. Leni suggested that they watch a movie together, but Oswald replied that he couldn't as he had math homework to do, sitting down at the kiddie table to do it.

Oswald was struggling figuring out some of the questions. He looked up to see Leni watching him with a sad, puzzled look on her face.

Since his time in the house, Oswald had taken note of Leni's air headedness. Though he still loved her for her kind heart, some of her antics were beginning to groan on him. But, as he looked her in the eye, he wondered if Leni was aware of…how she comes off as or felt bad about it, like not being able to help her siblings with their homework.

Lynn Sr. and Rita came home and were surprised to find a quiet and almost empty house waiting for them. Leni told them that most of the kids were at Clyde's home.

Seeing Oswald do his homework, they approached and asked if he needed some help. Oswald paused, this could be his chance for some quality time, so he nodded.

The parents sat down with Oswald and helped him complete his homework. Once done, he got up, Lynn Sr. giving him a pat on the back, and headed down to the couch, where a smiling Leni was waiting, watching one of her favorite movies.

Lincoln came inside, looking exhausted. The parents told him that they had bought materials for his volcano (and Lynn announced he could use marinara sauce for the lava), much to the boy's surprise and joy.

Then, they heard the sound of a car stopping down the street, drop something off, then speeding away.

All of the remaining sisters stepped inside. Lynn announced that the stress of having to watch over all of them at once caused Clyde's dads to have a breakdown. Which was started by Lisa suggesting they have a sleepover.

Now, the girls began asking for help for various things, but they had to wait their turn as they had to help Lincoln with his volcano.

This experience left Oswald with a new view on his adoptive parents, now understanding that having to care for twelve kids meant that they had to divide attention, which made him more appreciative of the time he could spend with them.


	17. Cereal Offender

Oswald got up and went downstairs for breakfast. The younger kids were all eating cereal at the table, except for Lana. Curious, he looked around for her until Lisa pointed downward. Turning his head down, he was surprised to see Lana eating out of Charles' bowl.

He began to reprimand her when Lincoln interrupted, telling him to just roll with it. As with all the other bizarreness in the house, Oswald decided to shrug his shoulders and move on.

He went over to Rita, who told him good morning with a smile then handed him a bowl of cereal with milk and a spoon. Oswald thanked her before heading to the kiddie table, sitting down, and starting to eat.

After finishing his cereal, Lincoln went into the living room to watch tv. There, he saw a commercial for a new cereal called 'Zombie Bran'. Drawn in by this, Lincoln asked his mom to buy it for him, but she refused as there was no room in the budget to include treats in the shopping lists (the Louds parents saving Oswald's inheritance for education). But, Lincoln convinced her that, if she let him do the shopping, he could buy all the stuff on the list (and have enough to buy the Zombie-Bran) while she had a day off.

Later that day, Oswald was having a snack in the kitchen when he heard the sisters ask Lincoln to go with him to the Super Mart. He saw Lily push a tiny shopping cart into the living room, where Lincoln told her she couldn't come along, leaving the baby in a frustrated huff.

The sisters came into the kitchen and told Oswald what was going on, asking if he wanted to come too, but he declined, deciding to stay home with Dad and Lily.

While Lincoln and the girls were driven by Rita were driven to the Super Mart, Oswald picked Lily up, still in a bad mood over not being allowed to come along and took her to her crib. There, he put her in it, then placed her blanket on her.

With Lily taking a nap, Oswald went back downstairs and into the kitchen, where he saw Lynn Sr. about to get dinner started.

Looking for a chance to bond with his adoptive father, Oswald asked if he needed any help. Lynn turned with a surprised look on his face, before grinning and saying yes.

Oswald stepped forward to the counter, where Lynn told him he was making the goulash for tonight's dinner. Lynn gave him the instructions on how to make the goulash, which Oswald followed. It had been a while since Lynn had a helper in making dinner.

The goulash had just been finished when the two heard the van come into the driveway. Rita (with a angry look on her face) opened the door and stepped in, followed by Lincoln (looking very sad) and the sisters (who all looked guilty).

Rita told her husband that she didn't get the groceries because the kids got themselves banned from the Super Mart. Lynn Sr. tried to calm his wife's anger by telling her that Oswald had just helped him make the goulash. Rita turned to Oswald, her demeanor softening, before kissing him on the forehead and telling him that she was proud of him. Oswald, having flashes to his mother acting similarly, meekly nodded.

The Louds ate the goulash quietly. No noise and minimal conversation was heard from the grown-up table and at the kiddie table, there was: Lily (unaware of the drama in the room) sipping her juice, Lincoln not looking up from his plate, Lola, Lana, and Lisa continuing their guilty expressions, and Oswald left wondering what had gone on at the Super Mart.

After dinner, a curious Oswald went up to Leni and asked her what happened at the mart. Leni told him that the sisters' antics, like her trying to free the lobsters and chicken, had gotten them all banned from the store (meaning Lincoln didn't get his Zombie-Bran) and how they all felt guilty for it. She expressed that she wished they could get Lincoln that cereal to make it up to him, causing Lori to get an idea and call her over to talk about it.

The next day, Oswald was watching tv next to Lincoln and Lily. The rest of the sisters were out. Oswald got up to go to the attic to feed Chester. When he was done and returned to the stairs, he looked down and saw that the sisters were home. And were now moaning like zombies. As were Lincoln and Lily.

Just roll with it, Oswald told himself. Just roll with it.


	18. For Bros about to Rock

Oswald was eating a snack in the kitchen when Luna came up to him. She asked him if he had ever been to a concert, to which he said no. Luna got this big grin on her face as she offered to take him to a Mick Swagger concert.

Oswald was hesitant (rock & roll wasn't his favorite type of music), but Luna kept reassuring him that that once he heard Mick's tunes, he'd love it. Still unsure but feeling it could be a great opportunity to spend time with one of his big sisters, he said yes.

Later, Luna went up to Lori's room, knocking the door before being let in. There, she asked Lori if she could drive her and Oswald to the Mick Swagger concert that night.

Having flashbacks to how Luna ruined her first Boyz Will Be Boyz concert, Lori refused, but Luna pleaded, saying that she just wanted to spend Oswald's first concert with him (pointing out that, who knew how many of the boy's first anythings they had missed). Moved, Lori acquiesced, planning on going on a date with Bobby while the two were at the concert.

Lori drove Luna and Oswald to the concert, dropping them off in front of the entrance before taking off, asking that Luna call her when the concert is over so that Lori knows what time to come back to pick them up.

Luna took Oswald over to the line, where she built up Mick's greatness for him, while waiting in line until it was time to hand in their tickets.

Taking their seats, they saw the Rockstar come out onstage to wild applause. As Mick began his song, Oswald was beginning to find himself rather enjoying it. And he told Luna this when she asked what he thought so far, which gave her one of the biggest smiles he'd ever seen. Seeing his sister so happy became infectious to Oswald, who gave a grin in return.

But then, excited, Luna decided that, to make this concert really memorable for her little bro, they should race onto the stage. She told this to Oswald, who only became confused, before witnessing Luna jump out of her seat and running down the stairs, yelling for him to follow her.

Shocked, Oswald yelled for her to stop, but the noise blocked her from hearing him. So, he watched as Luna jumped onstage in front of the surprised Rockstar and chased him around until she was grabbed by security and dragged offstage.

Swagger recovered his decorum before returning to playing his song. All the while, Oswald was left sitting in his seat, wondering what had gotten into Luna's head to pull such a stunt.

Luna was escorted away by a security guard and told to get out. Coming off the adrenaline, she finally realized that Oswald was not with her.

Panicking, she asked the guard where the kid that was with her was.

What kid, the guard asked.

So, Luna explained that she had brought her younger brother to the concert and that, last time she saw him, he was still sitting, guessing (and hoping) that he was still in his seat.

Though lambasting Luna for leaving a seven-year old unaccompanied in a crowded place like this, the guard radioed to his fellow security to be on the look-out for a boy matching Oswald's description.

Luna was worried out of her mind. If anything happened to Oswald under her watch, she'd never forgive herself. Nor would any of her family.

Meanwhile, Lori was driving to a drive-thru restaurant with Bobby when she stopped to take a text from one of her friends, who said that a girl had jumped onstage at the Mick Swagger concert. Praying that it wasn't Luna, upon asking her friend for a picture of the incident, she was dismayed to see that it was indeed her sister. And no sign of Oswald…

Luna heard her phone rang. Picking up, she heard Lori's voice, furiously asking her what she had done and where Oswald was. Luna tried to keep her sister mollified, saying that security was on the look-out for him, but Lori threatened that if she did not find the boy by the time she got there, Luna would get a beating. Luna gulped before hanging up.

Lori told Bobby what was happening, so they had to cut their date short. As an older sibling himself, Bobby completely understood, offering to come with to help search for Oswald. Lori gushed about how sweet he was before turning around in the direction of the concert.

Once the show was over, people all around Oswald got up and headed for the exit, squeezing past the small boy. Nervous and alone, Oswald tried to stay on the outside of the crowd, planning on finding an authority figure to find Luna.

He heard a voice call out, hey kid, you alright?

Turning around, he saw a blonde-haired (with a teal streak in it) teenage girl looking at him concerned. He told her that he was looking for his sister, the girl who jumped onstage.

The girl, Sam, was surprised. Initially, she thought it was awesome how Luna did that, but knowing that she had left her little brother alone… She asked the kid his name.

Oswald Cobblepot, he told her.

That's right, that's where I remember him from, Sam thought. She remembered reading in the newspaper what had happened to the boy's mother (and saw his picture in the paper) and had heard from Luna that her family had taken the poor little guy in.

Having experience in comforting a distressed young boy (via her little brother, Simon), Sam knelt down to Oswald's level, telling him that she was a friend of his sister's and would help him find her.

Oswald decided to trust in this stranger, so he followed her.

Luna ran around frantically looking for Oswald. She threw a breath of relief when she saw him until she saw that he was next to Sam.

Approaching them, Oswald let out a cry and ran towards her. Luna embraced him, he was crying on her shirt, muttering about how scared he had been. Luna placed a comforting hand on the back of the boy's head while shrinking from Sam's glare.

Oswald turned around, thanking Sam for helping him.

No problem, kiddo, Sam replied before walking away, not wishing to upset the kid any further by risking getting into an argument with Luna in front of him.

Now alone, Luna apologized to Oswald for leaving him behind, saying that she had gotten ahead of herself in trying to make his first concert memorable.

The two went out to the parking lot, where they saw Vanzilla waiting.

Lori rushed out of the car and hugged Oswald, exclaiming how happy she was that he was ok. Then, when Luna tried to talk, she, using a stern tone, told her younger sister to just get in the van, not wanting to deal with her excuses.

On the ride home, Bobby decided that now would be as good a time as any to introduce himself to Oswald. Oswald greeted him politely, but just wanted to be back home already.

After dropping Bobby off at his house, Lori drove to the Loud house.

Oswald didn't set one foot inside when Leni swept him into her arms.

Oh, Ozzie! I was so worried! she cried.

Luna entered to find her parents sitting on the couch, watching the news-the news of the crazed fan that jumped onstage at the Mick Swagger concert!

The parents turned to her with a stern glare, asking if she had anything to say for herself…


	19. A Tale of Two Tables

Leni held onto Oswald while the parents berated Luna for being so careless while her younger brother was in her care. Luna, knowing how guilty she was, gave no response as they gave her punishment-grounded for a week.

Slumped, Luna walked upstairs. Now, Rita's face softened as she went over to Oswald and hugged him, muttering at what-God forbid-could have happened to him.

Leni followed Oswald upstairs and wished him goodnight before heading to her own room.

The twins rushed out into the hallway and hugged Oswald. Lola sent a glare at the door to Luna and Luan's room, before telling Oswald what Luna had done at their first Blarney the Dinosaur concert (Oswald was vaguely familiar with the costumed character from the Louds talking about him; his own mother had no intention of letting him see such nonsense): in an attempt to start a crowd surf, Luna jumped on them and the other kids in attendance, only to wind up squashing them.

Oswald cringed at their descriptions of the event while they regretted now telling him it before.

Inside her own room, Luna held her head in her hands, fully contemplating what she had done and what could have happened to him. Not even Luan's usual jokes to lighten the mood (she, too, was furious when she heard what had happened at the concert).

Oswald bid the twins good night before entering his room, finding Lincoln sitting up. Lincoln exclaimed how relieved he was to find out that Oswald was alright before asking him what had happened at the concert. Lincoln showed surprise that Luna could do something so careless.

In the morning, Oswald got up and made for the stairs to head down for breakfast when he heard a voice call out from behind him, hey Oswald.

Oswald turned around and jumped at the sight of Lucy, almost tumbling down the stairs. Of the sisters, Lucy was the one Oswald interacted with the least so far and her sudden appearances made him slightly ill at ease around her.

Lucy offered to show Oswald some of her poetry, but the shaken boy merely said he could later before rushing down the stairs, leaving the goth to sigh.

In the kitchen, he found the elder sisters having cups of coffee. Though tired, they did acknowledge Oswald; Lynn offering to play with him later and Luan telling him a joke (before saying that she would have better material after having her cup of joe).

After breakfast, it was off to school. On the ride, Oswald sat next to Luna, apologizing if he had gotten her into any trouble by not following her at the concert. Seeing the glares her sisters were throwing her (including Lori's in the reflection), Luna made it clear to her little bro that it was entirely her fault and not his.

Oswald and Jervis were in the same gym class. The shorter boy introduced his friend to their classmates, including Dale Nelsen (a tall boy who dreamed of being an athlete one day, who greeted Oswald exuberantly, mentioning how much he admired the latter's sister Lynn for juggling so many sports at once), Lindsey Sweetwater (whom Oswald had heard of from Lola's pageant stories, though from her tone, he could tell they weren't friends; Lindsey was courteous, but aloof to him) and Simon Sharp (a scrawny kid who seemed friendly enough, though Oswald could tell Jervis was uncomfortable when he approached them).

Coach Pacowski came in and decided to start the class off on some pushups. Dale eagerly started, Lindsey did so without complaint, but Simon sighed before beginning. Oswald and Jervis began doing pushups next to one another.

The coach observed the new student throughout the class. Though his heart broke for him for losing his mother, he was glad that he seemed to be adjusting to how things went at the school so far. Especially glad to see him assist Tetch.

That night, the Louds were having dinner. At the kiddie table, there was: French fries, sausage, mashed potatoes, and peas.

But neither boy found they could enjoy the meal due to their sister's messy antics. For Lincoln, it was a frustration that had slowly built up for years. But for Oswald, it was the table manners he was raised with clashing with the Loud girls'.

From the twins play-fighting with their sausage, Lana chewing with her mouth open, to food fights, it was a massive culture shock for the young gentleman.

Lincoln rose up from the table and announced that he would ask permission to sit at the grownup table to get away from the chaos. The girls scoffed at this and, in the midst of his march, Lincoln lost his nerve and returned to finish his meal.

But Oswald too was curious about what went on at the grownup table, imagining it to be more refined and stable than the kiddie one. He remembered how dinner went at Cobblepot Manor back in Gotham, having the servants bring out the meal to the table where only Oswald and his mother were sitting. Part of him longed for times like such to come back.

After dinner, Lincoln vented to Oswald about wanting to join the grownup table before formulating a plan to get him there.

The next night, Oswald was about to head down for dinner when he was shocked to find Lincoln, with shaving cuts on his face and dressed in one of their father's suits. Lincoln told his curious brother that this was to show that he was mature enough to sit at the grownup table.

At the kiddie table, the twins were in a foul mood (Lincoln had cut their jump rope in an attempt to end their quarrel over it). But the elder brother was not there.

Rita brought out tonight's meal-chicken nuggets and beans and gave them to her children. When asked, she explained that he would sit at the grownup table from now on.

The kids were shocked. Astonished that he had really made it to the grownup table. And missing his presence.

To bring a more jovial mood, Lana began singing a song: 'Beans, beans! The musical fruit! The more you eat, the more you'll- 'before making fart noises with her armpit, causing the rest of the table occupants to laugh-except Oswald, who disliked such infantile humor.

Once the meal was done, Rita returned to bring out sundaes for the kids to enjoy as dessert.

Once done, Oswald headed upstairs where he got another earful from Lincoln. Of how terrible the grownup table was, how they had to eat liver (which Oswald had tried before and liked), of the boring conversations (Oswald considered dinner time for eating, not for chit-chat), and no dessert (which Oswald could also live without).

For all of Lincoln's complaints, the grownup table sounded infinitely better for Oswald than the kiddie table.

The next day, the twins approached Oswald, asking him for money to buy a new jump rope. Oswald had to explain to them that, as his guardians, only their parents had control over how to spend his inheritance.

Lola screeched about how they already asked their daddy to buy them another one, but he refused, while Lana let out a huff as they both left the room.

What brats, Oswald thought, before turning around to find Lucy behind him again.

This time, Lucy asked him if he wanted to talk to his mother's ghost. This offended Oswald so much that he stormed upstairs, leaving the goth to sigh again-but this time in regret.

Since Oswald had come to live in the house, she hadn't spent any quality time with her new little brother-nor did she have any idea how to. Her latest plan was to see if he had any unfinished business or anything that he wanted to say to his mother that he didn't get a chance to before she was taken from him.

Oswald stormed upstairs towards his room. The nerve of her, he raged inside.

Then, stopping when he saw into Lisa and Lily's room where he saw Lily attached to a machine with Lisa about to pull a lever. Oswald burst into the room.

What is it do you want, adoptive sibling, Lisa asked.

Furious, Oswald snatched Lily out of the machine and gave Lisa a scathing reprimand. How dare she use her family, even a baby, as guinea pigs, he bellowed at her.

Taking Lily downstairs with him, he left behind a four-year old, on the surface stoic, but inside, shaking in fear.

Oswald sat Lily down on the couch and began playing with her. The only other sane person at the kiddie table, he thought.

Leni came into the scene of Oswald playing with the giggling baby and gushed about how adorable it was.

Seeing a chance, Oswald asked Leni if he could eat at the grownup table that night.

Shocked, she asked why, to which Oswald explained his encounters with the younger sisters earlier.

Leni sat down next to Oswald, telling him that the twins were merely being cranky, Lucy was being…well, Lucy; and Lisa would never actually do something to harm one of their family.

But still Oswald complained of how he couldn't stand them or how they act at the kiddie table. Wishing back how dinner was before. Before his mother…

Oswald paused, tears forming in his eyes, before saying that he only wanted to be at the grownup table to feel like he did back home, like a young gentleman again.

Leni wiped the tears from his eyes and told him that he shouldn't be in a hurry to grow up so soon but find a way to enjoy being a kid in the now.

That dinner, the meal at the kiddie table was left on the plates as bad tempers were flaring all around. The twins were still fuming over their jump rope. Lisa was mad over her experiment being interrupted. Lucy was silent. Oswald was ceding no ground on his end of the arguments. Only Lily, unaware of the tension in her booster seat, was eating.

Lola picked up some mashed potatoes and threw it into Oswald's face.

Boiling mad, he grabbed some of his own and threw it at the pageant girl, getting some on her dress.

In a fury, Lola began throwing rapidly, hitting all the other occupants at the table, whom then began returning fire at her before throwing it at each other.

Oswald continued participating in the food fight, but, as it went on, he felt his mood lighten and, instead of in anger, he began to throw around food in fun.

The food fight was interrupted when the kids heard sounds of an argument going on at the grownup table before smelling a stench coming from there.

Lincoln walked back to the kiddie table, having been kicked out of the grownup table (as part of his plan), and was immediately hit in the face by mashed potatoes. Glad to be back, he grabbed some ketchup and squirted it on all six of his younger siblings, joining in on the food fight.

Lynn approached and asked if she could join in, to which they agreed.

Overjoyed at being able to escape the grownup table, Lori, Leni, Luna, and Luan followed suit.

So, it was that all of the siblings spent the evening engaged in a food fight, each having a merry time.


	20. The Girl Guru

While walking around the yard, Oswald stumbled upon Lincoln and Clyde making something. Approaching them, they explained to him that they had been given an assignment to make a business and their idea was to make birdhouses to sell to people.

This piqued Oswald's interest, so he stepped closer to look at their work. And became aghast at how shabby it was.

In front of him, was a 'birdhouse' made of popsicle sticks and held together with bandages.

A blue jay flew down and went inside. The boys squealed excitedly about their first customer when the 'birdhouse' collapsed.

Oswald looked on in horror, assuming the poor bird had been killed only to be relieved when it appeared out of the wreckage and flew away, leaving the two wannabe-entrepreneurs to face the fury of the young bird-lover.

Though this encounter did inspire Oswald to make a birdhouse-a proper one. But he knew he needed help.

So, he decided to seek out the eldest siblings. But he only caught Lori, Leni, and Luan at the door who apologized to him, but said they were busy (Lori had a date with Bobby to get to, Leni was heading to the mall for a shopping spree with her friends, and Luan had a gig where she was to make balloon animals for a kid's birthday party).

So, he decided to ask the one sister still free. Luna, still grounded for her actions at the concert.

Oswald went up to Luna's door and knocked. Upon being told to come in, Oswald saw Luna moping on her bed (Lynn Sr. having confiscated her guitar and equipment as part of the punishment).

Oswald asked Luna if she could help him with something, to which Luna, seeking any way to make up for what she did, readily agreed.

Luna had no idea how to make a birdhouse, so she looked at a manual online. Upon seeing the prices of what was needed, she hesitated to tell Oswald when Luan, wearing her clown outfit, came in, counting the dollar bills she had made in her gig.

The rocker asked her roommate if she could give part of her money to get the tools needed for Oswald and her to make a birdhouse. Luan hesitated, but Oswald, taking a cue from the twins, gave her puppy-dog eyes until she sighed and agreed.

Overjoyed, Oswald rushed to Luan and gave her a big hug, which she gladly returned.

Once they got what they needed, Oswald and Luna got right to work building the birdhouse.

Taking a break, the two spotted a pile of pies sitting on the wagon. Luna snatched two-one for her and one for her bro.

They both took a bite from the pies and immediately felt nausea.

Lori came home to find the two of them vomiting upon the ground. Concerned, she rushed towards them and began wiping Oswald's face clean.

With Rita working long hours at the dentist, Oswald had taken to seeing the eldest sister as a maternal figure, at least when the Loud matriarch wasn't around. Lori's tough stance on discipline reminded him somewhat of Esther's demeanor, as did her softer moments.

Lori had the pies put away to be thrown out later while leading Oswald inside for a glass of water. Oswald took the glass with a smile and thanked her.

At school, Oswald and Jervis were walking to the gymnasium for class. In the halls, they had heard rumors about this Girl Guru, a boy who others were paying to tell them how to charm a girl.

In the gym, they noticed several of their classmates were nervous. When asked, Simon said that they had heard that Coach Pacowski had been rejected by Mrs. Johnson as a result of some bad advice this Girl Guru had given him and had been taking it on his previous classes and was sure to continue with this one.

Pacowski marched out of his office and began telling the students to work harder than usual, including giving them more pushups to do than usual. All the students, besides Dale, moaned as they got started.

By the time they had finished, everyone was exhausted and were lining up at the water fountain.

Jervis, ready to collapse, was helped up by Oswald, who too was tired.

Lindsey screeched about how unfair it was that they were being punished for what this idiot guru did.

Dale shrugged, saying that anything that got them more exercise was not entirely bad, which got him glares from the other students.

Not all of us want to go on to the Olympics, Simon snarked. Then, the scrawny Sharp declared that he had heard that the Girl Guru is Lincoln Loud, throwing a glare Oswald's direction.

Simon rallied his classmates together, saying that they should help the Guru's dissatisfied customers hunt him down. And get their own revenge on him.

Oswald hesitated-until Simon shouted that, like the Coach decided to take his anger on the Guru out on them, if Oswald didn't help them find his brother, they would take their anger out on _him_.

Oswald gulped before agreeing to help.

The gym class fanned out through the school for any sign of Lincoln or Clyde, working with the angry customers, including Pacowski. But, despite their best efforts, the two managed to slip away. But they knew eventually, they'd have to come back.

Before leaving, Simon took Oswald aside and told him to give his brother a message.

Oswald walked home and entered the living room, where he found the sisters sitting on the couch in front of an obviously panicked Lincoln and Clyde. The sisters were laughing at Lincoln for thinking that all girls were the same and had all the same likes and dislikes.

They all turned when Oswald came in, having assumed he had stayed after school for extra credit.

Oswald walked over to the two boys and told them that everyone was still after them.

Lynn, sensing some fear in the boy's tone, asked if he needed any help.

Before Oswald could respond, Lynn Sr. came into the room and told Lincoln that they would have to throw out his pies. This gave Lincoln an idea.

The next day at school, Lincoln and Clyde had set up a new business selling the pies (for two dollars each) to their angry customers so that they can get revenge on the Girl Guru by pelting him with the pies.

Pacowski was the first pay, deciding to buy enough pies for his entire gym class to get a throw.

On Simon's insistence, Oswald was the first to throw a pie. Direct hit to the face.

Thatta boy, Pacowski exclaimed while patting Oswald on the back.

Oswald cringed at seeing the resulting the barrage knock his brother off the stool only for him to get right back up. Business is business, after all.

With that, all the drama died down. Mrs. Johnson gave the boys an A for the project. And everything was going back to normal at the school.

But Oswald still felt guilty about bowing to peer pressure to help go after one of his family, even after Lincoln assured him it was okay.

Luna and Oswald finished their birdhouse and went to show it to their family the day after, filled with pride in their work. By this time, Luna's punishment had ended, and she had her stuff back.

But, one day, Leni. getting close to the birdhouse, noticed something strange looking in it, before reaching out with her finger and touching it.

The family heard her yelp in pain and raced to see her run inside in tears.

Investigating, Lynn Sr. found that wasps had built a nest inside it, so he called an exterminator to take care of them.

When the wasps were gone, the focus of the family was making sure Leni was alright. And aside from a few stings, she was. Oswald was glad to see her soon back to her bubbly self.

The birdhouse was put in the Louds' backyard, where it would stand for Oswald's pride and joy (and the joy he had working with Luna to build it).


	21. Picture Perfect

In the morning, Oswald was surveying his newly-finished birdhouse when he spotted the Louds' neighbor, Mr. Grouse, walking outside.

The elder gentleman took a look at the boy that's always hanging around the Louds.

Good morning sir, Oswald spoke first.

Grouse gruffly nodded in response before asking about the birdhouse that he had seen the rocker Loud work with the kid on.

Oh, its something my sister helped me make, Oswald responded.

This caused Grouse to raise an eyebrow. _His_ sister?

Seeing the surprise on the man's face, Oswald explained how the Louds had recently adopted him.

His face aflush, Grouse complimented the boy on his fine birdhouse, which Oswald thanked him for.

So, the two began a polite conversation, which was interrupted by Lori calling Oswald back inside.

Oswald said goodbye to the neighbor and rushed into the house.

Well, they have at least one kid who has manners, Grouse thought.

Oswald went into the living room where Lori was waiting with Lucy, the twins, and Lisa.

Lori sat Oswald down on the couch next to her and explained to him that Mom and Dad's anniversary was coming up and they needed to get presents.

Oswald was filled with all sorts of gift ideas for his adoptive parents, to thank them for how kindly they treated him.

Lori told him that she was going to bring him, along with the rest of the younger kids, to the store so they could pick out their presents.

So, they all got into Vanzilla and went to the store. For his part, Oswald chose a mug, which Lori assured him Mom & Dad would love. Once they were done shopping, they went back home to pack their gifts.

The next day, Oswald went into the kitchen where Lincoln presented his own gift: a homemade coffee mug (that he stated he made one every year for their anniversary).

Oswald was puzzled: why would Lori tell him he should buy the mug if Lincoln always made one himself for their parents? And why would Lincoln give them the same thing every year? What if it was because Mom & Dad loved his mugs so much, they just needed more? What if Oswald's gift was pointless?

And then he saw the mug himself.

The sisters sneered at how ugly it looked (and Oswald wondered how sanitary it would be to drink from). Especially, Lola who said that Mom & Dad usually throw his mugs into the attic instead of ever using them.

The girls all let out a gasp, with Luna even covering the younger twin's mouth. But the damage was already done-Lincoln rushed up the stairs and then into the attic.

Oswald and the rest of the siblings followed him upstairs, where they heard a loud bellow come from the attic. Looking around, he saw the sisters look sad at what their brother had just discovered.

But then, Lincoln came down from the attic with an old camera, announcing that he had found the perfect present: a photo of all of them.

This meant it would be Oswald's first family photo. The boy, having suffered bullying in the past for his appearance, had anxiety and a degree of self-loathing about how he looked. Despite his nerves, Oswald followed his siblings into the backyard.

In the backyard, while everyone was lining up, Oswald volunteered to hold Lily still. But this had an ulterior motive: Oswald held the baby high-in front of his face.

Lincoln set the timer on the camera and had everyone smile.

But the sisters soon lost patience as the flash was taking so long to come. Lori and Leni started taking selfies with each other. Luna began playing her guitar. Luan put on her gag-glasses and began cracking jokes. Lynn started throwing her football around. Lucy was reading a book (which covered her face). And Lisa was reading her research notes on her clipboard.

Lincoln was freaking out over all the disruptions to his photo. Then, the twins began to argue. Lana threw mud at Lola, but misses, hitting Lincoln in the face just as the flash went off.

In their room, Lincoln was distressed when showing Oswald the photo. 'A vision of insanity' were his exact words, bringing up that, although he and Lily were the most normal-acting, the baby had covered most of the boy's face (only Oswald's eyes and the top of his head were visible in the photo).

So, Lincoln decided to take another photo-a better photo-a perfect photo!

Later, Oswald walked out of his room to find a water trail that led to the backyard, where he found the twins soaking wet and steaming mad. When asked, they told him that Lincoln had washed off their mud and makeup, then brought them out here to drip dry.

Oswald came back inside just in time to see Lisa fall down the stairs. Panicked, he rushed to help her up and discovered that she wasn't wearing her glasses. Oswald was looking around for them on the floor and Lisa was about to explain when Leni too fell down the stairs-on top of the two of them!

Oswald took the brunt of the blow, giving him some pain in the head. Leni rolled off them and asked if they were okay. Oswald was surprised to see that the second-eldest sister was wearing the glasses of the second-youngest sister (which she probably couldn't see with, Oswald reasoned).

Lincoln came down and escorted both girls to the backyard while Oswald went to get himself an ice pack for his headache.

Just as he was pressing the ice to his forehead, Oswald saw Lynn run down the stairs on all fours like a dog. Ugh, what now, he thought.

Up next was Lucy, whom Lincoln led down the stairs with her book.

While still nursing his headache, Oswald saw Lincoln lead a very shocked (and angry)-looking Luna and Luan outside.

Oswald heard the doorbell ring and went to open the door. In front of him stood a blonde teenager who looked to be about Lori's age.

The girl, looking surprised at the ice pack Oswald was holding to his head, introduced herself as Carol Pingrey, saying that a kid named Lincoln Loud had called her and asked her to come over for a photo with Lori. Oswald yelled for Lincoln and soon, he came into the living room, followed by a livid Lori.

After Lori slammed the door in her shocked rival's face, she turned to Lincoln and growled that they get this over with.

All three went into the backyard, where none of the sisters seemed happy about the upcoming photo (and Lynn, for some reason, was holding her football in her mouth).

Lincoln had some finishing touches to take care of before taking the photo, specifically the sisters' appearances. First, he taped Lily's diaper to her (to prevent her from taking it off), then put a pacifier with a smile imprinted on it in her mouth.

Then, he: put marshmallows in the twins' tooth gaps; made Lynn drop the football (by commanding her to like an owner did to their dog, which Oswald just found bizarre); made Luna wear a long wig, over her protests; and coaxed Lucy into smiling by telling her that the camera might steal her soul when the photo was taken. All the while, Oswald was nervous Lincoln would bring up his nose, but instead Lincoln asked him to bring out a box.

Inside the box were several red-and-yellow sweaters that Lincoln made all of them wear.

As they waited for the flash to happen, Lori asked what was wrong with the first picture. Nervous, Lincoln spurted out that they were acting too much like themselves, offending everyone present. Lori claimed this meant that Lincoln does not like them the way they are before telling everyone to smile out of spite for him.

Once the flash is done, everyone walked back inside, throwing the sweaters out in the process (though the twins were slightly mollified by getting marshmallows out of the deal). Only Luna and Luan stayed behind, just to tell Lincoln that, now that he has his crummy picture, to give their stuff back. Oswald headed to his room to lie down.

Oswald was woken up when Lincoln came back with the new picture framed but told him that he felt guilty for making the sisters hide their true personalities, so he decided that he will make up for it.

So, when the time comes to bring Mom & Dad their presents, Lincoln handed them the first photo, which they loved and placed on the mantle.

The girls were confused at why Lincoln gave the wrong picture until Lincoln explained that their real selves are perfect enough for him. They then hugged and thanked him. But, the mood soon turned into arguing when Lincoln bragged that Mom & Dad would like his present more than any of theirs.

Up first was Oswald who handed them the mug he got at the store. Secretly, the parents were glad to finally get a mug that they could actually use.

After all the gifts were given, Leni sat down with Oswald and asked him why so little of his face is in the photo. He shared with her his feelings about his appearance, especially his nose.

So, she decided to comfort him and took a selfie with him. Once taken, she wouldn't stop gushing about how adorable he looked. Oswald, still doubtful, but appreciative of her effort, gave her a hug.


	22. No Guts, No Glori

That night, Mom & Dad decided to head out for dinner for their anniversary, leaving Lori in charge, much to the kids' terror. Lori forbids Luna (from playing music), Lana (from making mud pies), Leni (from making phone calls), and Lincoln (from playing video games).

Lori gave them a strict schedule: 6-7pm: being in their rooms; 7-8pm: dinner & cleaning up; and finally in bed at 8:00pm. She then dismissed everyone to their rooms, assuming that Oswald would be the one to give her the least trouble that night.

In their room, Lincoln vented to Oswald about the 'Queen of No'. Oswald, having grown up in a household that practiced physical discipline, saw no problem with Lori's strictness.

Lincoln offered the hamster Geo snacks to bring messages to the rest. The other sisters, except Leni (who was stuck with Lori in their room), snuck into Lincoln's room where he rallied them to rebel against Lori, much to Oswald's panic that they would all face beatings for it.

They lured Lori out of her room by placing Lily on the amp and having her play Luna's guitar. While Lori was distracted, she was tackled to the ground and tied to a chair.

When Lori protested that she was the only one capable of keeping the house from becoming a pile of rubble due to their chaotic antics, the rest of the sisters decided to put Lincoln in charge (with the chant of 'We're thinkin' Lincoln'). Lori scoffed at this, predicting that Lincoln wouldn't last five minutes.

Lori was carried into the room, with Lola (taking one of Dad's golf clubs) being given the task of guarding her.

Lincoln declared himself the King of Yes, allowing the sisters to do whatever they want.

Lincoln tried to calm Oswald down by playing his videogame, 'Super Mega Brawlers Turbo Fighters XXIV', but before they can start, they heard a scream coming from upstairs. Racing up the stairs, they saw Luan chase Leni around with a fake spider (which Lincoln dismissed as harmless fun).

But then, deciding Luna is playing her music too loud, Lincoln turned down the volume on her amp, much to her annoyance. Then, they found out that Lisa was having trouble with a tentacled monstrosity that she created (though Lincoln claimed she could get it under control, having had similar cases).

Coming downstairs to resume the game, they found Lily walking on top of a bookshelf-an about to walk off the edge. They rushed forward (Lincoln climbing while Oswald stayed on the floor to catch her). Lincoln caught Lily, but then had to stop Lana from fishing the family's pet goldfish, but while he was distracted, Lily wiggled out of his arms and fell only for Oswald to catch and set her down.

Lynn brought in a bucket filled with dirt that she began dropping on the floor. Lincoln wanted to confiscate it but was interrupted when Lucy and Lana started a massive food fight.

Luna, looking for a show, set her amps to 'Super Max' and set off fireworks. Lincoln rushed to unplug the amps before telling everyone to stop misbehaving, but Lynn led the others in laughing off his attempt at control.

Realizing this has gone too far, Lincoln headed upstairs with Oswald to get Lori back. Lola refused to budge, so Lincoln charged at her only for her to strike him on the head with the club, knocking him out, much to Oswald's shock.

Oswald dodged Lola's blow and grappled with her for the club, eventually snatching it from her hands and tossing it on the ground. Furious, she tackled him, but he managed to overpower her before spanking her repeatedly.

Lincoln awakened to the scene and was shocked to find Oswald doing such a thing so he interrupted, allowing Lola to run crying into her room. Lincoln asked Oswald why he was doing that, to which Oswald was confused, asking if that isn't how the Louds use physical discipline, bringing up the time he heard Lori threaten to turn him into a human pretzel. Lincoln was quick to dispel him of the notion but was left troubled by why Oswald would be so quick to make such assumptions.

They headed into the room, where they found that Lori had already broken free of her rope bindings and was doing her nails. She bragged that she was right about her prediction, while Lincoln had to admit how she was needed and apologize for her to help him get things under control.

Lori headed downstairs and, getting their attention with a blow of her whistle, got them to start cleaning up by telling them that Mom & Dad would be home in ten minutes.

Lisa had her tentacled experiment scrub the living room with a soap cannon while Lynn used a hose to clean the kitchen. The rest picked up any trash they can find.

Mom & Dad arrived to find all the kids downstairs. But upon finding the rug to be soaking wet, they became suspicious. And Dad became furious when he found his broken golf club, demanding an explanation.

Lola spurted out that Oswald hit her, confusing everyone present at the thought of Oswald being violent, to which Oswald clarified that he spanked her, raising further eyebrows, before claiming that he only did so because she hit Lincoln with the club and tried to hit him.

After checking the indentation on the club and seeing Lincoln has a bump on his head, the parents determined Lola's guilt, so they send her to her room, but still wanted answers for whatever else happened.

Most of the sisters remained silent, but Lori decided to come forward and explain what happened. For what happened, Lincoln and the rest of the sisters were grounded.

Mom & Dad sate Oswald down and asked why he did what he did to Lola. Oswald explained that he was under the impression that the Louds practiced physical discipline cause of when he heard Lori threaten to beat her siblings, including making Lincoln a human pretzel, inadvertently getting Lori in trouble as well. Luna and Lynn spoke up, incredulous that he would think it okay that they would be beaten.

Rita asked, if he believed Lori was physically abusive towards her siblings, why would he be the most adamant to help her. Oswald answers: because it reminded him of his mother.

Everyone was puzzled by this, but the horror set in when they connected the dots. Oswald tried to speak up in his late mother's defense, but this only disturbed them more. Lori, especially, was horrified by being compared to a mother who beat her child (and even more disturbing, a favorable comparison).

Oswald mentioned that his mother would beat him with his umbrella if he left the house without it. This caused Lynn to realize why he seemed so freaked out on an earlier day and the glare his mother gave her.

The siblings gathered around Oswald to comfort him. Mom & Dad decided to talk about punishment later, telling everyone to get to bed.

Lily was brought into her crib, her infant mind untroubled by what had just been revealed to the Louds. The same could not be said for her roommate.

Lana headed up to her room, where Lola is still steaming at being grounded. Lola asks what punishment Oswald got, but Lana only tells her that she is in no mood for this right now before getting into bed.

Lucy was horrified, even one obsessed with darkness as she was had limits and child abuse was one.

Lynn was furious, privately swearing to Esther Cobblepot that she was lucky she was dead already by the time the Louds found out about the abuse.

Luan decided that later, she would try to cheer Oswald up, hoping her comedy would get his mind off the trauma.

Luna was left in disbelief that Oswald was suffering and none of them knew about. And even more that Oswald was standing up for his abuser.

Leni couldn't believe that she had worked for Oswald's mother all the while unaware of what she was doing to him. Stupid Leni, she berated herself. Poor Ozzie, was all she could think about for the rest of the night.

Lori was left troubled. This was what Oswald thought she was? An abuser? This thought haunted her.

Lincoln talked briefly to Oswald about the day's events and revelations before they go to sleep.

Lynn Sr. and Rita sat around in the soggy living room, discussing how they should handle what happened today; shocked that Lola would attack her brother, stunned by the chaos that their kids caused, and troubled over how to help Oswald recover from his trauma and mindset caused by his mother's abuse.


	23. It's a Loud, Loud, Loud, Loud House

Since the anniversary, the Louds had been walking on eggshells to make Oswald feel more comfortable in the home. So, they tried to avoid physical fighting whenever possible to show the boy that physical discipline was not how the family settled problems.

But this silence created tension that was bubbling up to surface between the sisters.

Especially Lola, still furious at Oswald for spanking her. It was rare that the 'princess' forgot when she thought someone wronged her. And even rarer for her to forgive said person.

Oh sure, she couldn't do anything to him, _now_. As her other siblings had made plain to her that if she tried to retaliate against Oswald, there would be dire consequences for her.

But Lola Loud could be a patient girl as young Cobblepot would come to learn.

One day, Rita decided that it was time that Oswald met her father, Albert-or Pop Pop as his grandchildren called him. She took him out to the car while Lincoln was looking for change in the living room couch; the boy looked up to say goodbye before continuing his search.

Rita wanted Oswald to become more integrated into their family. Despite his growing closeness with most of the siblings, her and Lynn Sr. were still Mr. and Mrs. Loud to him.

The past revelation haunted her. The thought of a mother wanting to harm her own child was alien to her.

Rita drove Oswald to an apartment in the city. Entering, they came face to face with a large elderly, mustached man with hair that resembled Lincoln's. On the man's right arm, there was a tattoo of an anchor-a symbol of his days in the Navy.

Rita hugged her father before introducing him to Oswald and vice versa.

Albert knelt down with a genial smile and shook Oswald's hand. Rita and the girls had told him all about the orphan they had adopted through phone calls.

Oswald had no experience with grandparents. Both sets of grandparents were either passed by the time he was born or soon after.

Albert soon charmed his new grandson and they had a long chat, which was interrupted when Rita announced it was time that they head home.

After farewells, Rita drove Oswald back to the house. While approaching the porch, they could hear sounds of celebration coming from the backyard.

Opening the door, Rita was dismayed to find the house in shambles and Lynn Sr. standing alone.

Upon being asked, Lynn Sr. explained that it was the result of his plan to get the kids to learn to work together and share with each other. He had created a 'Sharon DeMonet' charade where a previous owner had hidden money in the house which would require all of them to come together to find it. And after some trouble, they managed it (the money was really his work bonus).

Though pleased that her kids learned a lesson, Rita was still angry, so she gave Lynn a broom and told him to clean up the mess his plan had caused. Sighing, Lynn got right to work.

When the siblings came inside, Oswald was shocked to see that Leni had a black eye and Lincoln had two. When he asked what had happened, most of them looked awkwardly at him (trying to think up an answer), some looking down in shame.

One tried to change the subject by asking when dinner was going to start, to which Rita answered when their father was done sweeping up.

 **And this ends the February 2016 portion of this story. Now, we're going to take a detour from Oswald and the Louds. The next chapter will be the first in a series (that will be written in between 'months') about the mythologies and mysticisms in the background of the DC universe. Starting first will be the New Gods of Apokolips and New Genesis.**


	24. MYTHOLOGY: New Gods I

Millenia ago, Ragnarok-the epic final battle of the Old Gods-had begun in the realm of Asgard. The thunder god Thor had fallen while dealing a mortal blow to the Midgard Serpent. King Odin was devoured by the wolf, Fenrir. And the last blow was struck by the fire giant Surtur who plunged his bright sword into the ground, setting it aflame and sealing Asgard's fate.

But: this destruction of Asgard birthed two new planets: Apokolips and New Genesis. There life would continue. The Old Gods had died-and now was the time for the New Gods to come about.

From the fires of Ragnarok, a beam of divine energy known as the godwave spread throughout the universe, even to the newly formed Earth, leaving the potential for not only the great pantheons to form, but to sow potential of superhumans on the young planet.

The godwave split Apokolips and New Genesis off from the rest of the universe and sent into the dimension known as the Fourth World, meaning it could only be accessed through the use of a boom tube (travel portal).

I

New Genesis was filled to the brim with lush forests filled with extraordinary flora and wildlife. Its capital was the floating Celestial City-the planet's only city-which was where the Genesisians were intended to realize their full potential. There, each Genesisians were to be put through a rite of passage called the Rite of Ascension, which would give them power from the Source so that they might become a New God.

But all was not well in this paradise. The bug species (humanoid insectoids) that lived on the planet's surface faced much prejudice from the residents of the Celestial City, with some even favoring exterminating what they considered to be a lesser species.

In contrast to the beautiful nature of New Genesis, Apokolips was an industrial wasteland, powered by its many burning firepits. Its first leader, Zonuz, was one warlord among dozens who slaughtered his competition before taking up power for himself, renaming himself Yuga Khan upon his ascension.

With Apokolips under his control, the Khan turned his attention to New Genesis. Many raids were conducted on New Genesis, resulting it much of the planet's population being brought to Apokolips as slaves. These were to be known as Lowlies (slaves who saw no worth or value in themselves) which lived in lives filled with constant abuse that would only end in death.

To aid him in keeping order, the Khan created winged warriors called Parademons. Many specimens taken from the Khan's raids (or any Lowly that proved to be an extremely efficient worker) was taken to one of the laboratories on Apokolips, where genetic experiments were done on them to turn them into Parademons. They were indoctrinated to serve the Khan loyally in his army, serving as shock troops and the advance force in his invasions of New Genesis.

The Khan did have a soft spot for his beloved wife, Queen Heggra, enough to promote her younger brother, Steppenwolf to become commander of his armies. This, however, did not extend to their sons, Princes Drax and Uxas, whom he wished to become ruthless conquerors like him when they grew up. The ambitious Uxas absorbed much more of his father's lessons than his elder brother, who was something of a pacifist deep inside, did.

The Khan stood as the most powerful being in the Fourth World, the ruler of one planet and the terror of the other. But still he hungered for more power, which is what began his quest for the Source.

The Source-the source of the godwave-the source of all life in existence. The source of any power that could allow a being to break the known laws of physics.

The Khan journeyed long and hard to find the Source and was inches close to his prize. But, as he got closer, he was trapped in the wall protecting the Source. In the wall, he was to spend millenia-observing the events taking place in the Fourth World, but no longer taking part. For a conqueror such as the Khan, it was pure torment.

With her husband gone, Queen Heggra took the throne as regent for her eldest son and heir apparent, Prince Drax.

I

The Genesisians blew a sigh of relief at the passing of the Khan-the cruel dictator that had haunted them for centuries. The heir apparent to the planet, Izaya the Inheritor, hoping to begin a peace between the twin planets, sent an invitation to Prince Drax to come to New Genesis to have a discussion with him.

Izaya's message caused quite a scandal at Heggra's court. Which inflamed when Drax suggested it would be best if he indeed did go and hear Izaya out. Though Heggra humored his wishes and allowed him to go, inside she was seething and wondering how the son of the Yuga Khan could be such a weakling to think of peace with the Genesisians.

Drax went to New Genesis and quickly hit it off well with the Inheritor, sparking hope on the planet for lasting peace with its neighbor.

Over the years, the Queen's seeming favorite, Drax continued to pay visits to New Genesis, often engaging in talks of the future with his good friend Izaya. All the while, Heggra was grooming Uxas to scheme to push his elder brother out of the line of succession and become the conqueror that his father was-hardening him through years of cruelty and mockery.

I

An Apokoliptian agent, Glorious Godfrey, was recruited by the Queen to help tutor Uxas. Godfrey had the power of persuasion while his sister, Amazing Grace, practiced her own power of manipulation on the Lowlies.

One of the lessons was how to corrupt the innocent into becoming evil.

As a demonstration, Godfrey snuck into New Genesis where he befriended two kind youths, the boy Donatien and a girl, Justeen. The two kids had a pet cat and a pet bird that they both loved dearly.

One day, while the children were off playing, Godfrey snuck into the house and opened the bird's cage, allowing it to fly away. Donatien and Justeen came home to find their bird missing and Godfrey convinced them that the cat must've eaten it. Upon Godfrey's urging that the cat deserved to be punished, the two children killed it.

The cat had just been buried when the bird flew back inside the house. Blaming the bird for 'making them kill the cat', Donatien killed the bird in a fit of rage.

Godfrey then convinced the two to come with him to Apokolips. There, Donatien was introduced to Prince Uxas, who quickly took him under his wing, showing him all the administration and torture methods on the planet.

Under Uxas' tutelage, Donatien quickly developed sadism, becoming Desaad, the God of Torture and Uxas' right-hand.

Justeen rose through the ranks to become one of Apokolips' top soldiers, under the name of Bernadeth.

I

As part of his plan, Uxas had Desaad befriend Drax, earning the heir's confidence so that he may relay his plans and thoughts (such as hope that New Genesis and Apokolips never again find themselves at war with each other) back to Uxas. Desaad had quickly adapted to worming his way into politics on Apokolips, allowing him to easily get the prince to drop his guard around him.

Drax had introduced Izaya to his younger brother but warned his friend to be wary of his brother (who he knew to have darkness deep inside behind his scheming). A longing to use fear to bring the universe under his heel.

Though Drax feared it inevitable that war will begin anew one day, Izaya remained determined that they not follow the Old Gods into their own destruction.

Heggra and Steppenwolf found all this talk of peace ridiculous, resulting in Uxas easily being able to win them over to his side.

Drax was hesitant to claim his god-power (and therefore, his god-name) because his rite of ascension meant he would have to head into the Infinity Pit and claim the Omega Force (which had destroyed many would-be usurpers in the past). And fearful that the power might corrupt him.

But, under the pressure of his family and Desaad, Drax acquiesced. With armor (that Desaad had had sabotaged beforehand), Drax entered the Infinity Pit, but was immediately overwhelmed by the power within.

Uxas followed his brother into the pit. Finally, he had the chance to get out from his brother's shadow; even Drax was shocked when he saw Uxas could go so far to be rid of him.

The Omega Force built up more and more power until it exploded. Desaad feared both princes had died until Uxas emerged-now with grey, stony skin and red eyes.

The newly ascended Uxas took the most feared name in their peoples' lore, that none had dared to take before-Darkseid.

Now empowered with the Omega Effect, Darkseid confronted the Queen, planning to blast her into Oblivion as revenge for years of him suffering under her cruelty. But he relented when Heggra exclaimed how happy she was to be rid of her peace-maker heir, and how all this time, she had been hardening him so that he could have the fortitude needed to master the Omega Force.

Admitting some admiration for her plan, Darkseid accepted a place at his mother's side, but did not let go of his resentment for her. Deciding to bide his time until he had nothing left to learn from her.

To the downtrodden citizens of Apokolips, it was told that their new heir's appearance was the result of his valiant-but futile-effort to save his brother's life.

Izaya grieved for his friend-and for the future when Heggra's wicked new heir came to rule Apokolips.


	25. Cover Girls

**March 2016**

On Friday, during lunch, Jervis asked Oswald if he wanted to come over to his house on the weekend (Saturday night till Sunday morning).

Oswald was stumped. He'd never been on a 'sleepover' before. He told Jervis he would ask his parents for permission and see what they said.

After dinner, Oswald approached Rita (who was washing dishes) and told her.

Rita was surprised, but overjoyed. She did not hesitate to give him permission.

Oswald went up to his room to read. Lincoln was not home because he was out with Clyde, as he told his siblings before.

Oswald was reading when he glanced at the clock and saw it was past curfew, yet Lincoln was not home yet, becoming slightly concerned.

Then, Luan, Lynn, and Lisa burst into the room, explaining that they were going to cover for Lincoln so that Mom & Dad wouldn't realize that he wasn't home yet. They began covering the room floor with pillows while Lisa climbed up to open the window (causing Oswald to worry what they were up to).

Looking out, Lisa exclaimed that Lincoln had arrived before shouting that he 'approach at a 63-degree angle'.

Everyone cringed when they heard something (Lincoln) thump against the wall and fall to the ground.

Lisa then corrected herself; it needed to be a 62-degree angle.

Leni rushed into the room, grabbing Oswald by the hand, and taking him into the hallway, where their parents were just coming up the stairs, with Lori conversing with them about a magazine she had just read.

Hey parentals, Leni sweetly spoke, Ozzie was just tellin' me he wants to know how you two met.

So, it was that Dad began to regale how he had met Mom when she was a crossing guard when everyone heard a thud coming from Lincoln and Oswald's room.

Concerned, Mom rushed for the door when Lily started crying. The parents stopped to comfort the baby, providing a distraction for Luan, Lynn, and Lisa to sneak out of the room, carrying the pillows with them.

Mom and Dad checked up on Lincoln before passing on, unaware.

Before he headed to bed, Lincoln told Oswald how grateful he was to have their sisters always covering for him (and insisting he would do the same for them).

'One of the great things about having a big family', Oswald reflected on as he went to sleep…

Saturday:

Early in the morning, Rita called all the kids downstairs for spring cleaning, causing most of them to groan.

Oswald was about to get right to work when Lucy appeared and asked him to cover her side of the workload as she had a poetry reading to get to. Oswald was about to refuse when before he knew it, she was gone.

Oswald sighed, scratching his head, when Lisa approached him, explaining that she had an extremely important lecture to do at the university that she needed to go to. Annoyed, but understanding the importance, Oswald agreed and let her go.

Later, Oswald was stunned when Lincoln told him that the remaining sisters had all left, leaving the two boys to do all the work.

When Rita called up to ask Lynn and Lucy how cleaning, Lincoln opened his trunk and took out a wig resembling Lucy's hair before putting out an impression of the goth's melancholy tone. Continuing with impressions of Lynn and Leni while Oswald and he went into overhaul in cleaning upstairs.

Sighing with relief when done, the boys were startled when Rita announced that Pop-Pop was on the computer's video chat and wished to say hi to all of them.

Worried, the boys went downstairs to greet their grandfather, who then asked to hear some music from Luna.

Lincoln rushed to his room, leaving Oswald downstairs. Moments later, he came back down-dressed as Luna and bearing a similar-looking guitar.

Oswald stood there, mouth agape, as 'Luna' started playing for Pop-Pop, who applauded before asking to hear some comedy from Luan.

'Luna' went up the stairs, with Oswald following right behind.

In their room, as he was dressing up, Lincoln explained that he had texted all the sisters to come home and that he had costumes of all the sisters there for a delay, asking Oswald to help him.

Oswald shrugged but soon found that none of the clothes fit him, so Lincoln told him to just use wigs then.

After entertaining Pop-Pop, 'Luan' came back to the room and told Oswald that Pop-Pop wanted to see the twins, handing his brother the Lana wig and hat.

'The twins' pretended to argue over who would speak to their grandfather first; Pop-Pop trying to be a mediator when Luna and Lana came through the door.

Lana blinked at Oswald's wig and hat before she and Luna started laughing at Lincoln's dress until he explained the situation at hand.

As more and more of the sisters came home, all of them began dressing up as each other (Oswald putting on a white wig to pose as Lincoln; Lincoln ending up as 'Lily').

It went on until Lori (dressed as Leni) came up, saying that Pop-Pop wanted to say goodbye to all of them together. So, all of the costumed siblings gathered downstairs to bid farewell.

The mood of celebration abruptly came to a halt when Mom & Dad came into the room. They were all busted!

The kids explained what had happened. And the parents decided they would allow the kids to continue their plans-as long as they were wearing the costumes to them, much to the kids' mortification.

Later:

Oswald, still wearing the white wig, was driven to Jervis' house by Rita. He was nervous. Not about the wig-compared to his siblings, he knew he had no place complaining on that front-nervous because this was his first sleepover.

He walked to the door-Rita following him-and pressed the doorbell.

Jervis' mother opened the door and greeted them, exchanging phone numbers with Rita (promising to call if there was an emergency). Rita left after kissing Oswald on the forehead and wishing him good night.

Jervis was waiting in the living room for him. He was confused about the wig, so Oswald claimed he and his siblings like to dress up in costumes at home.

Jervis' face lit up into a smile before he escorted Oswald to his room. There, Oswald saw there were several different hats-Jervis explained they were from his grandfather's old hat shop and that he liked to put them on and play-pretend that he was a hero from several historical times.

He and Oswald began putting on the hats, playing. It was a jolly start to Oswald's first sleepover.

An older boy, whom Jervis introduced as his brother William, walked into the room, telling the two that they were to be in bed by nine-forty on the dot.

 **To Hatoralo:**

 **-It's the first part of a Mythology sub-story in this fic about how the different pantheons and deities in the DC Universe converge and cross paths with each other. And what role the New Gods, especially Darkseid play in events. And in a few chapters, there'll be one about Egyptian mythology.**

 **-No, the Loud kids won't fight Darkseid. The upcoming conflict with him (the finale to the sub-story) will happen decades before any of them are even born.**


	26. Making the Case

Though no big flare ups had happened yet, Oswald still wanted to resolve his tension with Lola, but was at a loss for what to do.

One morning, as everyone was getting ready to leave for school, Oswald noticed Lola wasn't present and asked why, to which Lana explained that pageant season had just begun, and Lola did homeschool then, rolling her eyes at how the younger twin took her pageants.

Getting an idea, after school was done, Oswald decided to talk to Leni on the ride home, asking her to help him patch things up with Lola. Leni suggested that he help her with one of her pageants, which Oswald concluded would be a good start.

Leni volunteered to introduce the idea to the 'princess' to smooth her over. After a few moments of civil discussion, Oswald worked up the courage to walk into the room. Upon seeing him, Lola's face turned from one of boredom to rage.

What are you doing in here, she screeched, get out!

Lola was about to throw one of her many stuffed animals at him when Leni snatched it from her hand and threw it onto the bed, worryingly telling the 6-year old to calm down and listen.

Lola huffed as they explained their idea. Leni tried to mollify her by saying that Oswald wanted to apologize for spanking her that night.

Instead, Oswald suggested that they both admit they were wrong, first apologizing, then asking Lola to do the same for attacking him and Lincoln.

Lola's face grew red with fury when told this. How dare he, she raged. She began to go on one of her rants when Lori came upon the scene and entered the room.

Lori interceded on Oswald's behalf by sternly telling Lola to calm down, to which the brat threw a stuffed giraffe at her head.

Why you little-, the eldest began to approach Lola menacingly (causing her to back away in fear) when Leni gestured towards Oswald. She had been trying to rein in her temper (and actions towards her siblings) ever since she learned of how Oswald was abused.

Sighing, Lori backed down, again asking Lola to calm down.

The princess gave a glare but conceded, sighing as she accepted Oswald's offer to help her with her pageant.

Heading back to his room, he heard Lincoln talking to Clyde, bemoaning that he doesn't have a trophy in the case.

The next day:

After school, Oswald met with Lola to help her prepare for her pageant. Neither were happy with it.

Lola still treated him coldly, only curtly telling him what she expected him to do.

Hearing a scream, Oswald rushed outside, leaving an irate Lola behind. In the backyard, he saw Lynn standing, completely drenched, in a small poll filled with some liquid.

Approaching, Oswald recognized it via smell as soda before offering Lynn his hand. Lynn took it, helping her out of the pool.

Thanks bro, Lynn muttered before heading inside to clean up.

Unaware to them both, Lincoln and Clyde were hiding in the bushes, just been inspired for their idea to win the video contest.

The next day:

Simon Sharp was walking through the hall, on his way to gym class, when he noticed Lana with her head in the trashcan.

Looking for a snack, kid, he snickered, hoping to get a rise out of her. But was disappointed when Lana showed no reaction to the taunt. Of course, since when would Lana Loud be embarrassed about how gross she is, he surmised.

Probably no use talking to the goth either, he guessed. After all, its not like she ever hid how much of a freak she is.

But then there's Ozzie…, Simon realized with a chuckle as he entered the gym.

During warm ups, Simon approached Oswald.

Gee, Ozzie, it must be tough livin' in that house, he whispered to Oswald.

What do you mean, Oswald asked.

I mean-with all the freaks and weirdos there, Simon was gleefully smirking at the anger on Oswald's face. Like that retard for example…

Oswald was about to deck Simon, but thought better of it, remembering what had gotten him kicked out of his last school. Instead, he walked away from him, exercising with Jervis at the opposite end of the gym.

After school ended, Oswald found Lucy, Lana, and Lisa waiting with angry looks on their faces. What a miserable day they just had.

Vanzilla stopped past them, with all the elder sisters looking furious.

Where's Lincoln, Lori roared.

Shocked by her tone, Oswald remained silent while the others said they hadn't seen him since they came into school.

Twerp's smart to not show up, Lori muttered before grumpily telling the kids to get in.

Getting inside, Oswald sat next to Leni whose makeup was running down her face due to tears. Placing a hand on her shoulder, Oswald asked what was wrong, but she only sobbed.

What's wrong, Lori ranted, is that the twerp posted an awful video of us online and all day we've been getting crap for it!

Taking out her phone, she played the video in question for the younger kids, it showed: Lori farting several different times (with her pausing every time to claim that it was just the sound of her shoe), Leni and Lisa walking and hitting their heads into the wall (Leni cringed while watching; Lisa looked angry), Luna splitting her pants while trying to imitate Mick Swagger, exposing her underwear in the process (Luna's cheeks were red with embarrassment), Lynn falling into the pool filled with soda (the middle schooler was furious), Lucy making out with her 'Edwin' bust (the goth was deathly silent), Lana chewing gum she got from the trash (Lana was the one least bothered by her segment of the video, but still angry at Lincoln for recording the rest of the sisters), and finally, Lola sleeping (with messy hair and wearing a brace).

Of the siblings, only Lily, Oswald, and Luan were absent from the video.

That must've been what Simon was talking about, Oswald muttered. This caught the sisters' eye; they asked him if he had to deal with any trouble at school that day (and promising retribution on anyone responsible), to which Oswald explained that, in gym class, this guy named Simon Sharp called them bad names (not elaborating further to avoid causing them further distress).

Wait-Simon Sharp, Luna's eyes lit up, that's Sam's brother!

Oswald remembered the kind girl that had helped him at the concert. Luna promised she would talk to her friend about what her brother did.

Oswald was stunned that his brother/roommate could do such a thing. Then, Oswald spoke up that he had to go help Lola at her pageant rehearsals.

Every occupant in the van showed dawning horror on their face. What had Lola been through?! And fearful of what her reaction would be.

Rushing inside the building where the pageant was to be held, they arrived just in time for Lola to storm off stage. Oswald caught glimpses of the other girls' snickering before following Lola out, concernedly asking what had happened.

Lola was trying not to break down, using her anger as a cover. Determined not to break down. Not in front of him.

Approaching the van, Lola focused a glare on Luan, who shrank from it.

What have you done, she shrieked.

Why do you think I did it, Luan squeaked.

Because you're the creep whose always video-taping everybody, Lola retorted, that's why!

It was Lincoln, Lori exclaimed.

Lola grew silent and walked into the car, sitting next to Oswald.

Congrats, Ozzie, she whispered under her breath, you're not the brother I'm most angry with anymore.

When they got home, everyone rushed to his and Lincoln's room only to storm back down in a huff when they saw he wasn't there. Oswald went into his room, not wishing to see the arguments and yelling that would inevitably begin when Lincoln got home. And so, it did come to pass.

All the sisters raged at Lincoln for posting a humiliating video of them online. And all just to win a contest, no less.

Once done, all the sisters headed upstairs. Oswald heard Lincoln try to apologize to them only for them to rebuke him before slamming their doors in his face.

Lincoln slumped to his room, where he found Oswald glaring at him.

Get it out then, Ozzie, Lincoln sighed.

Oswald was happy to oblige, How could you, Lincoln? How could you humiliate your own family like that?

I left you out of it, Lincoln muttered, his eyes casting down on the floor.

Oswald was about to walk out of the room when Lincoln claimed he was going to delete the video.

That won't make it all go away, Oswald spoke before walking out.

Walking down the hallway, Oswald stopped by the twins' door, hearing Lola sob. He knocked on the door.

WHAT?!

Cringing at Lola's yell, Oswald spoke: It's me.

What do you want, Lola bellowed.

I promised to help you with the pageant, Oswald said.

Lola opened the door, glaring at him, but her tears had smeared her makeup.

Just forget it, I'm not doing the stupid pageant anyway!

Hearing these words shocked Lana. Lola give up on one of her pageants?

Could I come in, Oswald asked.

Lola huffed, but gave way, allowing Oswald to enter the room. Lana was sitting in the corner with her pets, looking surprised at Lola's gesture.

What happened at the rehearsal, he asked gently.

Lola fumed, The girls were all making fun of my sleep face! Like you could understand!

Oswald looked her in the eyes, Actually-I can, gesturing towards his nose, which gave the princess pause.

But you shouldn't let what they said get you down, Oswald took out a tissue and began holding it to Lola's face, cleaning off her makeup and drying her tears.

…Thanks Ozzie, Lola was using a softer tone. Then, she leapt at him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

Lana moved to join the hug. Ordinarily, Lola would freak out on her twin for getting dirt on her dress, but, this time, decided to let it be.

The next day:

Lincoln did indeed delete his video and, to make amends, posted a video of his own embarrassing moments (which Luan had in supply of).

When he got home, the sisters, deciding his video was even worse than the original, decided to forgive him. Though, in private, Lincoln still bemoaned all the trouble his video did and will get him into.

Meanwhile, at the Sharp residence, Simon Sharp was receiving a tongue lashing from his older sister.

With all that poor kid's had to deal with already, Sam yelled, do you really think he needs you to pile on?

Sam left the room, promising to tell their folks what he'd done, leaving the boy alone to fume, wanting payback on Cobblepot for squealing on him.


	27. Heavy Meddle

At school, Oswald and Jervis were walking down the hall when a cry of 'Hey Cobblepot' went out.

Turning around, Oswald saw Simon march in his direction, with a furious look.

Thanks to you pipsqueak, Simon fumed, I got grounded!

Oswald tried to ignore him and continue on his way only for Simon to grab him by his shoulder and turn him around.

Where do you think you're going, Simon was getting in Oswald's face, I'm not done talking to you!

Unknown to either of them, this shout got the attention of Lincoln, who had just left the cafeteria.

Buzz off Simon, Oswald defiantly spat, not wanting to cede any ground to him even while not indulging in a fight.

Or what, Simon shoved Oswald, pushing him back a step.

Witnessing this, Lincoln approached before punching Simon in the face, sending the scrawny boy to the floor. Oswald was surprised to see his brother use violence. A nearby teacher shouted for both boys (Lincoln and Simon) to head to the principal's office.

Both Lincoln and Simon were suspended.

The older girls were shocked to hear this when they picked the younger kids up. And furious when they learned the reason.

I told Sam to deal with that brat, Luna fumed.

Luan postulated that she try out one of her pranks on the Sharp boy.

All the girls were focused on making sure Oswald was okay and thinking up punishments for Sharp.

In their room, Lincoln made a confession to Oswald: though furious at seeing his brother being picked on, part of the reason he punched Simon was to get out of school for a little while. Cause he was dealing with a bully of his own.

Gasps were heard outside their door. Lincoln groaned (at what he knew would be the start of his sisters' meddling again) as he opened the door to find the sisters gathered behind it. He was being picked on?!

Lincoln moaned as the sisters told him what he should do. Lynn suggested she was going to teach the boys fighting moves to toughen both of them up later on.

Lynn walked out, coming back minutes later-carrying a terrified Simon by the seat of his pants. The girls surrounded him (all glaring daggers down at him).

Y'know, kid, I was tryin' to do this Sam's way, but you just had just had to keep on hassling my bro, didn't ya- Luna spoke first. Simon vaguely knew her the best-as she was his sister's friend-so he had tried to look to her to show mercy-a futile hope.

Simon was trying to wiggle out of Lynn's grasp to no avail.

You should be ashamed for picking on such a sweet boy- Simon did not look Leni in the eye, petrified Oswald had told them about his remarks about her the other day.

This'll teach you to mess with our brother – Lori gestured to Lana and Luan.

Lana took gum out of her mouth and smooshed it onto the boy's hair. Followed by a pie being smashed into his face by Luan.

Satisfied, Lynn carried Simon downstairs, then to the porch. With a snarl- Never come near my little brother again -, she threw him onto the grass. Simon rushed to his feet and ran away.

Oswald was comforted-though bewildered- by the spectacle, having just witnessed what a large family could do for each other.

With Oswald's bully out of the way, the sisters immediately switched the topic back to how to deal with Lincoln's bully.

Growing frustrated, Lincoln blurted out that his bully was a girl. The sisters were stunned for a moment before letting out joyous squeals and dancing- even the normally stoic Lisa, much to Oswald's confusion. Then, glomping Lincoln in a crushing group hug.

Then came the line 'Lincoln, why didn't you tell us you had a girlfriend?'

Lincoln was left mortified when the sisters told him that, if a girl picked on you, it meant that she liked him. As for Oswald, he very much doubted that the girls that had taken part in his torment back in Gotham liked him.

And then Leni suggested that he kiss her, getting all the girls into a frenzy (and putting Lincoln into even more of a panic).

Later:

While helping Lincoln get ready, Luna heard her phone go off. She grimaced when she saw it was a text from Sam.

 **Sam: WTH Luna?**

 **Luna: C'mon Sam, y'know what he did.**

 **Sam: It was messed up, yes, but did you have to KIDNAP HIM?**

 **Luna: It was jus to make sure he knew to leave Oz alone, alright?**

This went on back-and-forth until 3:30.

Lincoln marched outside, where he planted a kiss on his bully's lips. And was then punched in the face.

Now sporting a black eye, Lincoln re-entered the house to find nine apologetic sisters waiting for him in the living room. Furious, Lincoln yelled at them to not meddle in his life anymore before rushing to his room, leaving all the girls to reflect on their guilt.

Lori had half a mind to march out there and tell the girl off but, watching her in the window, realized there was something familiar about her…That was it-she was Bobby's sister!

She immediately started texting Bobby.

 **Lori: Boo-boo bear, r u there?**

 **Bobby: Hey, babe, just got off my shift. What u need?**

 **Lori: Remember all that stuff that I did to u back in elementary?**

Bobby paused. Actually, he had been trying to forget it (he only started liking Lori once she began cutting it out).

 **Bobby: Yeah.**

 **Lori: Well, I thought this girl was doin' the same 2 Lincoln, but when he tried 2 make his move, she hit him.**

 **Bobby: Oh, poor guy.**

 **Lori: And also, it was your sister.**

Bobby looked at the message in shock. His Nini did what?!

 **Bobby: I'll tell my mom.**

Lori smiled.

 **Lori: Thanks, boo-boor bear.**

 **Bobby: Gotta get back to work, babe. XOXO.**

Lori looked to her sisters, exclaiming it was all taken care of.

Oswald asked how, to which Lori claimed (with a smirk) that the girl would find herself in trouble when she got home.

Oswald headed upstairs and into his room, where he found Lincoln holding a steak to his black eye. On the bed, there were two pieces of paper. At a glance, Oswald saw they read 'Sorry Lame-O. Here's my number. 555-0121 Text me.' and 'For your eye. XOXO, Ronnie Anne'.

Well, Ozzie, at least now they know not to meddle anymore- Lincoln said. Catching the look of discomfort on Oswald's face, he groaned.

What now?!


	28. Come Sale Away

The day had come for the Louds to hold their annual garage sale. By now, Oswald had seen a pattern with his siblings: how much they liked to compete with each other.

All the sisters had their stands ready (Lucy offering predictions; Lana selling any of her reptiles that the house had no room for anymore) by the time Lincoln was bringing his own stuff out to sell. There was a chalkboard next to the porch to keep track of how much each kid had sold and how much money they had earned.

Lily let out a cry until Lincoln gave the baby her blanket, then got right to his stand.

As for Oswald, Mom told him to stay by Leni through sale, saying she did not want a repeat of 'last year' (not specifying on the events in question, though).

Oswald was walking through the customers when he bumped into a short old man.

Hey, watchit, kid! - the man exclaimed.

Sorry, sir- Oswald apologized, then continued on to see Leni, who was standing in the garage with a young couple.

Check it out: it just had a new paint job, space galore, and it comes with its own clicky-thingy- Leni raised the remote before clicking a button, causing the garage door to begin to close.

Oswald saw the couple were stunned at what Leni was pitching to them, he got in as the door was coming down.

Um…Leni, what are you doing? – Oswald spoke up as the garage shut.

Leni, finally noticing him, looked down at him with a lighthearted smile -Oh, hey Ozzie, well, this is a garage sale…-

I know that, but…wait, are you trying to sell…this?- Oswald gestured around the room.

Leni replied -Yep!-

Well…Leni, your mother said to tell you that the garage was off limits to sell – Oswald decided to explain it to her gently.

Leni huffed -They always do this! What's the point of having a garage sale if you're not going to sell your-

Excuse me, but can we go now? - one of the couple spoke up.

Leni pressed the button again, opening the garage.

Stepping out, Leni was disappointed to find she was at last place on the chalkboard, but Oswald cheered her up by telling her that he was going to help her sell stuff.

So, the sales went on. But soon, trouble arose: the siblings began to notice that Lincoln was making a killing-with stuff that wasn't his!

Lori began to reprimand him for this, but he remained nonchalant and arrogant. Before all, all the sisters began to rummage through the house for stuff to sell. However, this caught the attention of Lynn Sr. (who was cooking goulash) and Rita (who was doing laundry).

The kids were reprimanded for trying to sell off the furniture and the sale came to an early, abrupt close.

With the threat of being grounded hanging over their heads, none of the kids were in the mood to perform a victory dance.

Everyone sat down for dinner. The adults' table was fraught with tension, the parents still mad at what the kids tried to do. And it was little better at the kiddie table, the competitive spirit still not leaving the kids.

Later:

The Louds had a dilemma on their hands. March was soon to come to an end. And soon- the most dreaded day of the year-April 1st would be upon them! Oswald's first April Fools with the family!

The siblings struggled with how to explain to Oswald the terror that was upon him. Lincoln decided to tell him.

All the tales shocked Oswald (who couldn't picture the good-nature Luan doing anything of the sort), but one story did gnaw at him. The story where Luan shaved the pets. Part of him feared, if the stories were true, what would become of his owl, Chester?

 **The next chapter will be the next part of the Mythology sub-story: Nabu the Wise and the Egyptians.**


	29. MYTHOLOGY: New Gods II

**Darkseid**

But the fallen prince Drax was not dead. Burned beyond recognition, but still alive, he drifted through space until he landed on the planet, Adon. There, he was nursed back to health by a being that called himself the Infinity Man.

Once Drax was on his feet, the Infinity Man shared his story with him: he was once Astorr, a warrior on Apokolips, who, in an attempt to gain an advantage in the civil wars with the Yuga Khan, entered the Infinity Pit to master the Omega Effect. Astorr survived the experience but he too ended up on Adon.

There, Astorr studied for centuries how the Infinity worked, discovering how the Source balanced the potential of those that gained the power of the Omega Effect.

Learning that his brother had broken the balance of the Omega, taken his place in the line of succession-and the dreaded name of Darkseid-Drax volunteered to help impede Darkseid from forcing his tyranny on the universe.

Astorr began training Drax to become his replacement, but as his time is running short, makes sure Drax knows about the many logs he had written on the Infinity.

One day, Astorr collapsed in the midst of training. Drax ran to help him back up, but it was too late: the Infinity Man had died.

Drax hid himself in the deceased's logs, learning all he could about the ways of the Infinity power. All the while, looking for a way to leave Adon and return to the twin planets so that he may aid in the battle against his brother, Darkseid.

I

The god of knowledge, Metron was an adventurer and scientist native to neither Apokolips or New Genesis. His mission was to unravel the mysteries of the universe as he traversed it in his Mobius chair, and wished to stay neutral in the conflicts between the twin planets.

The Genesisian scientist, Himon, caught Metron's attention (and respect) when he invented Element X, a material with teleportation abilities. Metron was quick to befriend the scientist to learn about his latest creation-and his plans to create supercomputers (Mother Boxes) for every Genesisian to use, which would then create Boom Tubes, which would allow easy access throughout the universe.

However, Apokoliptian technology too was advanced and able to catch Metron's interests. Darkseid offered to share the schematics with Metron in exchange for the secret of how to create Element X, which Metron agreed to divulge, along with Himon's other plans.

It was amoral, yes. But, to Metron, morality was often block in the path for knowledge, so he discarded it when he deemed such necessary.

I

Throughout his existence, Darkseid had only loved one person: an Apokoliptian sorceress named Suli with a kind heart. Over Heggra's objections, he decided to marry her and soon she was bearing his child.

The Queen was furious. She could tell that Suli's influence was softening her son and thus, was determined that all her years not go to waste over some whore.

So, as the birth was coming up, Heggra gave an order to Desaad that he poison Suli in a way that it would look as if she had died in childbirth. Reluctant to betray his master, but aware that disobeying the Queen meant death, Desaad acquiesced.

Within hours of her son, named Kalibak's death, Suli passed on. Furious, Darkseid ordered that the infant be taken out of his sight and that he be left alone with his wife.

Darkseid sat next to the bed of his wife, his love.

When the Black Racer (whom, to the New Gods, was the physical manifestation of death) came for her, Darkseid, for the first and only time, pled for the life of another.

But the Racer only stated that it could not be, before telling Darkseid that he had not taken his brother away. Darkseid was left standing there shocked, his brother was alive?

While her son was mourning, Heggra was at her banquet hall, pleased that her scheme had succeeded. Now, it was time to find him another match…

I

Soon after Suli's death, the Queen forced Darkseid to remarry to another woman, a warrior named Tigra, whom she favored. But Darkseid took his frustrations out on his new wife, meaning she would be the victim of several vicious assaults by him.

Young Kalibak was beneath his interest, not wanting any reminder of Suli.

One day, Desaad came to him and confessed his role in Suli's death. And then had to grasp for breath with Darkseid's hand tightening around his throat.

Desaad pleaded that he was truly loyal to his prince, that he had only followed the Queen's orders because he would've been killed if he refused.

Truly loyal, Darkseid thought. He released his grip, letting Desaad fall to the ground. As the torturer got back up to his feet, Darkseid informed his lackey that he had a mission for him to prove his loyalty.

Heggra was feasting upon her favorite meal before calling for her wine glass to be filled, which was done promptly by her servants.

The Queen gulped down the drink, but soon felt a burning, searing pain in her throat. Heggra clutched her neck and began to cry for help only to see no one else was in the hall, except for Darkseid who approached the other end of the table with a satisfied smirk on his face.

Heggra was stunned. She had wanted to create a conqueror. But a matricide?...

The Queen fell, her head collapsing onto the table.

Darkseid yelled for the servants to come in before telling Desaad that he had earned his life. Desaad began to thank his lord when Darkseid blasted him with his eyes. Desaad howled in pain before Darkseid relented, telling him it was a warning for if he ever acted without his approval or knowledge again.

With the Queen dead, Darkseid ascended to the throne. The only other contender was his uncle, Steppenwolf, who was always more interested in hunting the most dangerous prey he could find than he ever was in the politics at court.

But the new Queen, Tigra, was not happy. Darkseid rarely visited her and when he did, it was never a pleasant occasion. Mostly, he spent time with his concubines at court.

I

Gretch was the daughter of a Lowly family, brought up all her life to worship Great Darkseid. When old enough she was taken from her home to be trained to become one of Darkseid's elite soldiers.

The peasant girl was put through intense, warlike training, including being tasked with training a dog that she named Mercy in private. Through training, Gretch and Mercy bonded, the dog being the only thing, besides Great Darkseid, that she could honestly claim to have loved in her life.

The two were brought into Darkseid's throne room for the last step of their training. Gretch was almost overwhelmed at the sight of her lord sitting before her. Gretch's training officer ordered her to kill her dog. Instead, Gretch slew her trainer.

A stoic Darkseid remained sitting on his throne, asking why she had done this. Gretch pled that doing so would have robbed him of a great asset, telling her lord that Mercy would obey him above all else.

Testing this, Darkseid ordered Mercy to attack Gretch. The dog immediately turned vicious and leaped to bite her trainer. Gretch dodged and, with no other choice, slew her beloved pet.

Over the dog's corpse, Darkseid announced Gretch had impressed him enough to become one of his Elite so that she may teach blind obedience in others the way she had taught Mercy.

Gretch took on a new name: Granny Goodness.

She was put in charge of the training facility (that she termed an orphanage), where she would raise young children up to become fanatical soldiers for Darkseid, using her twisted form of love (pain, torture, and brainwashing).

I

With the boom tubes, Darkseid could now stage large-scale invasions of the universe, led by his son, Kalibak the Cruel, sending his fleets in to bring as many planets possible under his tyranny. Kalibak proving himself in battle after battle in the hopes of gaining his father's respect.

But these incursions caught the attention of the galactic police force, the Green Lantern Corps.

The Lanterns decided to stage a retaliatory strike on the despot, but when they reached Apokolips, were shocked to learn that Darkseid (having learned of their weakness) covered his fortresses, weapons, and even his own armor with the color yellow.

Though the Lanterns fought valiantly, the battle soon turned into a slaughterhouse. Darkseid's forces were surrounding the few surviving Lanterns when the Guardians of Oa themselves decided to intervene.

The Guardians decided to make a truce with Darkseid, saying they would leave him be so long as his incursions into the universe end and he keeps to his own dimension. Darkseid decided to agree, allowing the Guardians (with their surviving and wounded Lanterns) to return to their universe.

Though the 'truce' would be a setback to him, Darkseid still felt pride that he, in his first battles with forces outside the Fourth World, had emerged victorious. Though Kalibak was left depressed when he came back from the battlefields to only find more of his father's stinging rebukes waiting for him.

I

Among the students at Granny's orphanage was a boy fascinated with weaponry named Iluthin. One day, Iluthin was audacious enough to steal weapons from Darkseid's master assassin, Kanto 13 (Kanto was the traditional name for master assassins on Apokolips).

Iluthin was caught and, as punishment, was forced to fight several of his fellow students by himself. The boy proved himself by easily beating all of them.

Enraged, Kanto tried to attack the boy himself, but was interrupted when Darkseid entered the room. Darkseid announced that Iluthin was to be exiled as punishment for his theft before blasting the boy with his eyes, causing him to disappear.

Iluthin was left standing in the middle of Renaissance-era Rome. There, a man wearing a warrior's clothes approached and asked if he was Iluthin, the boy who was to become his lord, Cesare Borgia's new page. Confused, but with no where else to go, Iluthin answered that he indeed was.

Borgia quickly took Iluthin under his wing, teaching him how to: dress in a courtly fashion, fencing, the manners of courtly etiquette, etc. All the while, Iluthin began secretly courting his lord's illegitimate younger sister, Claudia, knowing that the noble would disapprove of her having a relationship with a commoner. But, after proving his worth as an assassin and spy, the impressed Cesare agreed to let Iluthin marry Claudia.

Meanwhile, Kanto, thinking Darkseid's punishment to have been too lenient on the little thief, decided to come to Earth to kill the boy himself.

In one of the most beautiful churches in Rome, Iluthin was about to marry Claudia when Kanto appeared in the church. Iluthin took out his sword to defend himself and began dueling the assassin. In the midst of the fight, Claudia was killed by one of Kanto's laser blasts, but an enraged Iluthin managed to be the victor.

Iluthin was about to slay his downed opponent when Darkseid himself appeared in the chuch. Most of the attendees paled at the sight of him, but on Cesare's be grieved face, there was recognition and deference.

Darkseid disintegrated Kanto for his failure, thanked Cesare for training Iluthin (to which Cesare gave a bow), before teleporting back to Apokolips with Iluthin. There, he explained his plan: feeling that Kanto allowing his armory to be stolen from made him a weak link (and impressed with the boy), he decided to send the boy to Earth where he arranged for him to be taken in by the notorious Borgia family to give him the skills needed for his new occupation: Darkseid's latest master assassin.

Now Kanto 14, Iluthin had also inherited his predecessor's fortress and fief. As practice, he started out on hunting Desaad's torture victims in a labyrinth.

The new Kanto began dressing in the Renaissance fashion and taking an artistic pride in his work (strategizing methods of assassination). Though he was still haunted by memories of his murdered love, Claudia. As a master of weapons, Kanto preferred to use weapons from the Italian Renaissance (swords, knives, etc.), which had been improved by Apokoliptian technology.

I

Horrified that his inventions had allowed Darkseid to expand his tyranny, Himon approached Izaya with a plan. He was to infiltrate Apokolips as a lowly and start a resistance effort in order to teach the youth there to dream of freedom. Aware that Apokoliptians are capable of being good (from his friendship with Drax), Izaya agreed to the plan, promising to see to it that Himon's young daughter, Bekka, was taken care of on New Genesis while her father was away.

Soon, machines began to appear in the worst slums on Apokolips, broadcasting pleasant feelings and promises that there can be happiness past Darkseid's tyranny. An anathema to Darkseid's Elite, who rushed to squash any sight of disobedience.

Himon developed a following with many youths in the slums, teaching them to steal specific parts so they might build their own Mother Boxes, which would in turn allow them to escape Apokolips. As numbers of disappearing children rose, Darkseid put his master assassin Kanto on the case.

Kanto tracked down of the groups meetings and stormed it with elite soldiers. Himon was captured and brought before Darkseid, who recognized him as the creator of the Mother Boxes and Boom Tubes before sentencing him to death.

On the day of his escape, Himon disappeared from his cell. The guards were left perplexed at how he could escape.

Himon had only just started being a thorn in Darkseid's side.

I

Queen Tigra was finally with child. But still Darkseid had only loathing for her.

When the child, a boy that was named Orion, was born, Darkseid had her frozen and locked away, deciding he no longer needed her now she had given him a son.

Kalibak was left jealous of his younger half-brother, unaware that the ruler was only slightly more interested in Orion that he was in his eldest.

Orion was a feral child, nearly impossible to control during his rages. A true son of Darkseid, his caretakers surmised.


	30. April Fools Rules

It was in the late days of March and all of the Louds were in panic mode over their most dreaded day of the year-April 1st.

This included Oswald. The stories he'd been told…

He was in the backyard monitoring his birdhouse (a hummingbird had just flown in) when a sly 'Hey, Ozzie…' came from behind him.

Turning around, he almost jumped when he saw Luan dressed in her jester costume, probably having just gotten back from one of her gigs.

Luan looked around to make sure that no one was watching before, growing a devious grin on her face, telling Oswald that she had a proposition for him. She wanted him to help her this April Fools.

Before Oswald could reply, she told him that, on April Fools Day, there were only two types of people on the Loud premises: the pranksters and those that get pranked. And she was offering him the chance to be the prior.

When Oswald still hesitated, Luan grew more threatening, 'Y'know, Ozzie, you should be careful with old Chester, he might-I don't know-shed feathers pretty soon.'

Remembering the story of the pets being shaved, Oswald gave her an answer: 'Yes.'

…

It was March 31st and the Louds were scrambling for preparations to protect themselves: Lori put a watermelon hat on Lily's head; Lynn was putting on football gear and padding; Lucy put on armor; Lisa had a bunker prepared for months; Lola, Lana, and Leni were coating themselves in bubble wrap.

Much to Oswald's shock, even the parents were panicking.

But the Loud most terrified was probably the prankster's own roommate, Luna. The rocker was on her knees, begging Lisa to let her hide in the bunker, but the ingenious four-year-old was unmoved.

In their room, Lincoln shared his plan with Oswald: it was to not leave the room all day. He piled snacks, video games, and his 'Tinkle Tube'. The germophobic Oswald decided he would sit the plan out, perplexing Lincoln on how he planned to keep safe.

Two hours later, Oswald found Lincoln in a panic. He had just received a text from Ronnie Anne, who said that she wanted to come over tomorrow. So, he went up to Luan to beg her to call off her pranks, but Luan had no mercy.

Oswald was puzzled by why Lincoln would want to hang out with the girl who's been picking on him.

To solve this issue, Lincoln called a family meeting down in the basement to figure out a plan to stop Luan. To prevent Luan's surveillance from catching them, Lola turned on the washing machine to block out the noise.

Late that night, the siblings heard a bird call come out from Luan and Luna's room. Creeping in, they found Luna standing on the ground and Luan still sleeping in bed. Now was their time to strike.

Luan opened her eyes to find her siblings, smiling maliciously, with Lincoln carrying rope.

Soon, Luan found herself tied up (with her fingers bound by Chinese finger traps) and stuck in a cage. With a look of pure rage, Luan demanded that they let her out, but was informed that she was going to be kept in the cage until the day after April Fools.

Everyone else blew sighs of relief, their worst nightmare having just been averted. But Oswald, seeing the glare Luan was giving him specifically, shuddered while leaving the room.

 **April 2016**

The morning was pleasant and relaxing for the Louds. They felt they had dodged a bullet. How wrong they would be…

For when Luna took a break from guard duty to go to the bathroom, Oswald was walking down the hall. Peeking inside the room, Luan whispered for him to come closer.

Approaching her, Luan asked him to release her. Oswald was reluctant-until Luan seething told him, 'Listen, Ozzie, y'know I'm gonna get outta sooner or later-and when I do, you don't want me mad at you.'

Sensing the threat in her voice, Oswald decided to acquiesce. He unlocked the cage door (Luna having left the key on a desk), then took the finger trap off of her. The now free prankster stood up and hugged him before they snuck out of the room. Oswald split up with her, heading straight to his room, hoping no one saw him free Luan.

When Luna came back from her break, upon seeing the opened cage, she let out a scream. The siblings flocked to her room and were equally horrified. Now, the beast was loose.

Everyone (except Lisa who made a retreat for her bunker) began to rush for Lincoln's room for shelter. Upon spotting the parents at the top of the staircase, Oswald hoped they would fix the situation only to be disappointed when they just ran down the stairs in a panic.

The kids were holed up in the room until Lincoln received a text on his phone: that Ronnie Anne was on her way! He quickly thought up a plan-he was going to set off all the pranks in the house so that she wouldn't get hurt.

So, Lincoln left the room. Every couple of minutes, they heard faint traces of a boy screaming. The sisters cringed at this but remained stationary. The terrified Oswald was baffled; why wasn't Lori (or the parents) putting their foot down about this.

The sisters were about to ration the snacks among themselves only to be dismayed when they found out that Lana had been eating much of them. Leni volunteered to go down to the kitchen to get more supplies. Fearful for her safety, Oswald decided to head down with her.

Oswald followed Leni down the stairs, where they found a sign painted 'Kitchen this way' that pointed towards the front door. Leni smiled nonchalantly, 'Oh, thank you sign!' and walked out the door. Oswald was about to protest but caught his tongue. Any excuse to get out of this house right now would be a good one.

Outside, there was one similar sign after the other, each pointing further and further into the center of town. And so were Leni's 'Thank you, sign!'s a plenty.

…

Oswald was following Leni through the town when suddenly, she stopped, 'Ozzie, can I ask you something?'

'What?'

'Why did you let Luan go?'

Oswald paled as he realized his treachery had been spotted. But he was surprised to find that, on Leni's face, there were no signs of anger, only confusion and concern.

Nervous, Oswald blurted out a lie that Luan promised him that she was going to take it easy on the pranks if he let her go.

Leni's reply was 'Well…she did, like, seem toned down from last time.'

Oswald didn't even want to think about how horrible last year was, if this was toning it down.

The two of them decided to stay away from the house until the sun began to set.

…

They came home to find Vanzilla covered on the inside with blue paint. Right beside the van, drenched in the paint, were the parents and most of the sisters, all looking furious at the last prank of the day.

Upon being asked where they had been, Leni made up a story: while Oswald was getting the snacks, she was following the signs to the kitchen and Oswald had to chase after her.

Accepting the answer, the rest got back to cleaning Vanzilla. A furious Lynn Sr. muttered that Luan was grounded for a month.

Heading upstairs, Oswald stopped when he heard the door to Luna and Luan's room creak open before shortly after shutting. On the floor, he found a note that read:

' _Thanks, partner. Already thinkin' up plans for next year. Tell you about 'em, then_.'

Oswald took the note to his room, where he tore it into pieces and placed them under his mattress to be disposed of later. So that no evidence would be left.


	31. No Such Luck

**Due to how many fanfics on this site there already are on this episode, I was considering not including it. But, instead, I decided to retell it in a different way (like a focus on Lynn's reliance on superstition).**

Oswald went outside, where he found Lynn kneeling down on the grass. She seemed to be looking for something so the curious boy stepped forward to ask her what she was searching for.

'A four-leaf clover,' Lynn answered. She explained that she was looking for one so that it would give her good luck in her softball game-that was happening in a few hours.

That was when Lynn realized that Oswald had yet to come to one of her games. She glanced up at him, 'Hey, Ozzie, how'd you like to come to my game today,' and smirked, 'Your big sis could always use more support.'

Oswald thought nothing of it, 'Sure, Lynn.'

He decided to get down on the grass himself and help her look. Eventually, he spotted a clover with exactly four leaves on it.

Pointing it out to Lynn, he was about to pick it up when Lynn yelled, 'Gimme!' and snatched it up.

Lynn smiled at her new good luck charm before turning to see the surprised look on Oswald's face, then explained to him that, according to her superstitions, only the person who picked up the clover could get good luck from it.

Oswald was puzzled in the stock she was placing in the superstition but mulled over it. As long as she was happy.

…

At the game, Lynn (with the clover in her pocket) was standing on the pitchers' mound and began her rituals. First, she lifted her leg and turned her cap backwards. Then, she knelt down to the ground, picked up some dirt, and threw it over her shoulder. Then, with her dirty hand, she patted her right cheek, getting it smeared with dirt.

Oswald was sitting among the family in the bleachers. Seeing no surprise on any of their faces to Lynn's bizarre actions, he surmised that she did so regularly.

The game was an easy victory for the Royal Woods Squirrels. Everyone was congratulating Lynn on the walk to Vanzilla.

Oswald was following along when Lynn hugged him from behind. The jock thanked her little brother for helping her find her lucky charm.

…

The winning streak continued unabated for several more games-until one day when Lynn awoke to find that Mom had put her uniform (with the clover still inside!) in the wash. The softball champ was distraught: she had lost her lucky charm and she would have to hurry to find another one.

Lynn was kneeling in the garden when Rita honked Vanzilla's horn and told her that, if she didn't hurry, they were going to be late for the game. Sighing, Lynn marched in the direction of the van.

With her confidence broken by the loss of the clover, Lynn's performance suffered. The Squirrels lost their game against the Daisy Hill Daisies.

After it ended, several of Lynn's teammates rounded on her for playing so poorly, with only the one she was closest to-a girl named Margo-speaking in her defense. When Lynn claimed it was because she lost her four-leaf clover, the teammates called her out for using her superstitions as a crutch and excuse.

…

A despondent Lynn sulked in her room after her loss. Lucy was sitting on her bed, comforting her, when a knock came on the door.

'Who is it?'

'It's Oswald.'

After being bade to come in, Oswald offered to help her find another four-leaf clover later. This brought a smile to Lynn's face as she thanked him.

…

The two of them were searching for a four-leaf clover. After an hour went by with no luck, Lisa walked outside and decided to have a chat with Lynn.

Lisa softly criticized Lynn for relying on (what the four-year-old considered to be) 'complete nonsense' and not her natural talent. The conversation was joined by the others who also tried to persuade Lynn that she didn't need any lucky charms to do well. All she needed was to try hard.

Lynn was not easily convinced-but she decided she would give it a shot.

…

The next week, the Squirrels were matched against the Hazeltucky Lions. The winner of this game would decide who went on to play in the playoffs.

It was a tense game. Lynn was up at bat. First, one strike. Then, a second strike.

As the pitcher readied to throw to her again, Lynn took a deep breath. This time, she managed to hit it, resulting in a home run that won her team the game.

While her teammates and family celebrated her win, Lynn felt reassured in her own abilities.


	32. Sound of Silence

Rita handed Oswald a bowl of cereal and a glass of milk, 'Here's your breakfast, Oswald.'

'Thank you, Mrs. Loud,' Oswald spoke while grabbing it.

'You're welcome, sweetie,' Rita smiled before turning her attention to the stove.

Oswald went over to the table and began eating.

'Um…Oz?'

Oswald looked up to see Luna standing in front of him with a look of confusion.

'You do know you can call 'em Mom and Dad, right? They won't mind, dude.'

Not wishing to have this conversation, Oswald simply shrugged and began eating his cereal.

…

Oswald was sitting in the living room, watching the nature channel on television when Lincoln came through the front door-wearing only his underwear and covered in garbage. He marched over to Oswald and complained of how hard it was for him to get a moment alone to read his comics in his briefs (a habit that befuddled Oswald).

Just then, the show cut to commercial. An advertisement for ear buds, called Noise-B-Gone 2000's, came on, giving Lincoln an idea. Within seconds, he had run upstairs and was on the phone in his room.

An hour or two later, a delivery man came and dropped off a package, which Lincoln rushed to scoop up and-after paying the man-take back to his room.

The day went on. Oswald was still watching tv when Luna came up to him, 'Hey, Oz. Have you seen Linc around? He said he'd promise to help restring my guitar.'

Before Oswald could answer, Lucy suddenly speaking, 'He said he'd come to my séance' almost spooked him off the couch.

The two sisters were trying to sort out the confusion when Lola screeched, 'Emergency sibling meeting now!'

The three gathered in Lori and Leni's room, and found Lola sitting on the bed. As the rest filled in, a curious Lucy asked, 'Where's Lincoln?'

Lola gave a smirk, 'That's precisely the reason for this meeting.'

…

The sisters were fuming at Lola's revelation-that Lincoln had been using the ear buds to tune them out all day.

Lynn wanted to confront him directly, but Lola had another idea. Another idea to teach him a lesson, which she revealed with a devious smirk.

That night, when Oswald entered his bedroom, he found Lincoln lying on the bed, bragging about all the peace and quiet he had gotten ever since he turned the ear buds on to block out the sister's noise. Oswald, aware of what was coming tomorrow, decided to keep silent, aware that, if he sided with Lincoln, it would be two against nine.

…

At the break of dawn, Lola burst into their room, threatening Lincoln that he better not forget what he promised to do for her by 3 pm. Though aware of the plot, the 6-year-old's yell still almost caused Oswald to jump of bed. Terrified, Lincoln lied that he did know what he promised her.

'Good, because you wouldn't want to make me MAD!' And with that Lola stormed out, leaving behind her worried older brother.

Afterwards, Lynn came up and dragged Lincoln outside. Cringing at the sound of their 'sparring session', Oswald went into the living room.

The doorbell rang. Oswald got up to open the door, but Leni got their first, opening the door and letting in five teenage girls.

'Girls', Leni smiled as she pointed at Oswald, 'This is Ozzie!'

Cries of 'He's so cute!' caused the short boy to blush as the girls followed Leni upstairs.

…

Oswald was checking on his birdhouse when he spotted Lincoln, looking very tired and panicked, making topiary sculptures of Lola and her stuffed animals.

'Oswald!'

He turned around to see Lisa running up to him, 'I need your help with a lab experiment!'

Oswald followed her up to her room, where Lisa got to work pouring chemicals into beakers, and helped her keep things steady.

Lisa was about to finish when a cry of 'LINCOLN! IT'S THREE O'CLOCK! YOU FAILED ME!' caused her to drop a beaker. Oswald grabbed it before it reached the ground. Lisa wiped sweat from her brow while Lola continued her tirade.

When the experiment was finished, they stepped outside the room to find out the charade was over and the rest of the sisters had reconciled with Lincoln.

'Thank you for your assistance, sibling,' Lisa spoke up.

'You're welcome, Lisa.'

'If not for you catching that beaker-' Lisa stopped herself, 'Well, it's better not to dwell on that possibility.' Oswald raised an eyebrow at this.


	33. MYTHOLOGY: New Gods III

**War**

Steppenwolf was cruising on his hover bike, enjoying his pastime: poaching the wildlife on New Genesis when he spotted Izaya on a walk with his wife, Avia. Feeling this was a chance that wouldn't come again, he fired on the unsuspecting couple. Once he assumed both dead, Steppenwolf sped off.

But Izaya was still alive. Waking up in pain from the blasts, Izaya was heartbroken to find his wife lying next to him, limp. Izaya strained to reach to check her pulse and, finding none, collapsed into tears of grief.

Several Genesisians came up to aid him. One claimed that they had just seen the Apokoliptian general, Steppenwolf, speeding through the forests. His blood boiling, Izaya vowed to crush Darkseid if he found out he was behind this.

Izaya had a message sent to Darkseid, threatening war if he did not hand over Steppenwolf to face judgment for the unprovoked attack and murder of Avia. When this message was rebuffed, Izaya gave an order to ready his troops for war.

Darkseid did not plan his uncle's attack but did foresee that war with New Genesis was inevitable, so he already had his forces ready.

War between New Genesis and Apokolips had just renewed.

I

The opening battles of the war ended in Darkseid's favor due to his prepared forces and Steppenwolf's ingenious strategies, with the Parademons ravaging any stragglers, meaning the Apokoliptian forces had a foothold on New Genesis.

But Izaya proved a hardy war leader, constantly focusing on assaulting any bases Darkseid's soldiers set up on his planet. So, to weaken the Genesisians' resolve (and to finish what his uncle had started), Darkseid ordered Kanto to assassinate Izaya.

Kanto snuck into Izaya's camp and silently slew the soldiers standing guard around the Inheritor's tent. Then, he went inside the tent where the shocked general had just gotten up from bed and, using his sword, stabbed him in the stomach right after he had raised the alarm. Kanto had to flee, but left assuming he had struck a fatal blow to the enemy leader.

But the camp nuse, a woman named Vayla, managed to save Izaya's life, though he was left in a coma. Nevertheless, with Izaya out of the action, the Apokoliptians continued their advance.

The night Izaya came out of his coma, the first thing he saw was Vayla's face. Falling in love, they made love that night, with Izaya promising to marry her afterwards.

Looking upon the conflict, the amoral Metron knew he would ultimately have to pick a side. And, as Darkseid's tyranny would hinder his quest for knowledge, he resolved to throw his lot in with the Genesisians if it ever came to that.

I

Far from the war, Glorious Godfrey had just met the Green Martian race-and immediately began to charm them. Godfrey's reports of their life equation (that the Martians believed was mathematical proof in the importance of free will) sparked an interest in Darkseid.

If there were corollaries to that effect, then logically there should be negative corollaries that formed mathematical proof that free will was meaningless and could be negated or controlled, Darkseid hypothesized. An Anti-Life Equation?

If such a formula existed, then it would be concrete proof that all life is meaningless. That freedom and hope were useless. That resistance was futile.

With this, one could dominate any sentient race. Or all of them.

Looking out at the never-ending construction of monuments to his greatness, Darkseid had an epiphany-the outcome of this one war was meaningless in the grand scheme of things. For if he ever found this Anti-Life Equation, that would give him control over the entire universe.

For with it, everyone would sink to hopelessness, with only him to worship. And he would finally stomp out this free will nonsense. Forever.

I

With Izaya back in command, there was a huge raise in morale with the Genesisian forces, resulting in the Apokoliptians being pushed back to their initial bases on the planet.

Seeking to lead the final push himself, Izaya left his pregnant second wife Vayla in the safety of the base.

On the battlefield, Izaya cornered Steppenwolf and blasted him in the face, slaying him. Standing over the corpse, he could feel no satisfaction in slaying the man who had murdered his dear Avia, looking upon the masses of bodies on the fields that day.

At the sight of their commander being felled, the Apokoliptian troops went into full retreat back to their homeworld.

The victory celebration was short-lived as news soon spread that the Apokoliptians had just staged an air-strike on the Celestial City itself. Izaya's heart sank when told the staggering number of casualties.

Izaya went back to the base where he was given even worse news: Vayla had died giving birth to her and his baby, a boy. Heartbroken once more, Izaya asked to see his son.

Upon being handed him, Izaya looked down upon his son's sleeping face. Such innocence, Izaya reflected, in these times of horror and tragedy.

It was a victory, but one with a cost heavy to bear.

I

Izaya, feeling enough blood had been shed, wished for the war to be at an end. He had thought Steppenwolf's death would bring an end to his inner troubles, but he was wrong.

Looking for wisdom and enlightenment, Izaya retired his command and went on a sojourn into the forests of New Genesis. There was where he first came across it-the Source.

Being so close to what had started it all nearly overwhelmed Izaya. The Source proclaimed it would bestow answers to whatever Izaya asked of him. Izaya immediately asked for a way to end the war.

The Source told him that he would need to form a pact with Darkseid, where they would exchange each other's sons. Izaya was revolted at the thought of sending his own son to be raised in that hell, but the Source calmed him by explaining its reasoning: though he would suffer, Scott's spirit would be refined through the trials he would go through on Apokolips and he would be living proof that Darkseid's oppressive system cannot squash a strong enough desire for freedom. And it would deprive Darkseid of his heir and redeem the boy, who would then make a valuable ally for New Genesis.

Acknowledging the Source's wisdom with a heavy heart, Izaya agreed. By the time he had returned to the Celestial City to share this wisdom with his subjects, he was finally ready the be the leader he was always meant to be. From that day on, Izaya was known as Highfather.

So, it was that the Pact that brought an end to the war was made. Scott and Orion were exchanged by their fathers. While Highfather took personal custody of Orion, Darkseid had Scott passed off to Granny's orphanage, where the sadistic matron mockingly named the baby 'Scott Free'.


	34. Two Boys and a Baby

It was a Sunday morning. Lincoln got up bright and early to enjoy what he thought would be a day of relaxation when Rita bellowed that today, the family was going to visit 'Aunt Ruth'.

Seeing the horror on Lincoln's face, Oswald asked who Aunt Ruth was, to which Lincoln explained that she was Rita's aunt. And that the rest of the kids-with the exception of Lana-considered visits to her house to be torture, due to: her many cats, her disgusting food, and the revolting chores, such as cleaning the litter box and massaging her feet (which Lincoln would always be singled out for).

While the rest of the family went, Lynn Sr. would stay behind to babysit Lily until everyone got back home. But that gave Lincoln the idea to convince Rita to allow him to stay behind to babysit Lily-much to his father's displeasure.

…

Oswald and the sisters packed into Vanzilla. Besides Lana, none of them showed any trace of excitement for where they were going. Lynn Sr. was sitting in the drivers' seat trying his best to hide his despair from Rita, who was sitting next to him.

When they arrived at Ruth's house, Rita opened the door and went in, followed (reluctantly) by her husband and kids. Ruth, a brown-haired obese woman, was sitting in her chair, surrounded by her cats.

Rita grabbed Oswald's hand and led him over to the chair, 'Aunt Ruth, this is Oswald.'

Ruth looked at the short boy, 'Ah yes…the boy you adopted.'

Oswald struck his hand out, 'A pleasure to meet you, ma'am.'

Ruth's eyes lit up in surprise before she shook the boy's hand, 'Likewise'.

Looking up to see, much to her surprise, Lynn Sr. standing in the corner, Ruth commented, 'Those manners definitely didn't come from you, Loud.'

Rita bellowed, 'Honey, come over here and say hi.'

Lynn Sr. gave a cracked smile as he approached, 'Hello, Ruth.'

Noticing the absence of a certain white-haired boy, Ruth asked, 'Where's Lincoln?', to which Rita explained, 'Oh, he volunteered to stay behind to watch Lily.'

Ruth lifted her foot up, 'Well, in that case, start rubbing my bunions, Loud.'

Lynn Sr. grimaced at the sight of her extra toe before kneeling down to begin the massage.

…

Once the patriarch was finished with the massage, he then had to scoop the litter box. While this went on, the siblings sat down at the table in the kitchen.

All of them shuddered at the sight of the moldy pudding they were served. All except Lana, who scarfed it down in seconds, before asking for more, much to the other's disgust.

Then, Ruth gave them all a long lecture on the history of her felines. All the sisters groaned at this, having heard all the stories a dozen times before. Even the newcomer, Oswald found it hard to keep his interest.

As the day came to an end, all the Louds bid farewell to their aunt, then packed back into Vanzilla. Some more moldy pudding was given to Lana for later.

…

On the ride home, all the siblings were exhausted. As they were coming up upon their neighborhood, Rita received a call on her cell phone, during which she showed concern. Oswald heard the word 'chicken pox' but nodded off to sleep in the middle of it.

Oswald awoke in his bed. Looking out his window, he saw that it was dark out. But, there was no sign of Lincoln in their room.

Bewildered, he stepped out of his room and went downstairs.

'Oh, you're awake, honey?'

Oswald turned to see Rita get up from the couch, 'You seemed pretty tuckered out when we got home, so we brought you into bed.'

Curious, the boy asked, 'Umm…where's Lincoln?'

'Oh, I got a call saying that a boy Lily was playing with has the chicken pox. Which meant that she and Lincoln could have been infected, so they had to be quarantined.'

Concerned (having had the pox himself two years ago), Oswald sputtered out, 'C-chicken pox?!'

Rita moved to assuage his fear, 'It's ok, sweetie. They'll be alright. They'll just be at Aunt Ruth's for the next few days.'

'Aunt Ruth's?'

'Yep. Luckily, she's already had the chicken pox.'

 **To Guest: There'll be a story arc about Oswald learning to stand up to peer pressure, which he has struggled with-both at school (like in The Girl Guri) and at home (like in Sound of Silence).**


	35. The Demon's Head

**An interlude away from the Louds to introduce a figure that will be one of the story's main villains later on:**

London, England

Prince Faisal of the Royal family of Saudi Arabia was sitting down in a bar in one of the city's luxurious hotels.

'More wine,' he bellowed, holding up his glass.

A waitress, a brunette who looked to be in her early twenties, came and poured his glass, 'Is this wine good enough, your Highness?'

'Yes,' Faisal gave her a leery smile, 'Go up to my room, its on the tenth floor, room B.'

Faisal took out a few dollars and shoved them down her shirt, the woman chafing from his touch, 'I'll be up in an hour.'

'Yes, sir,' the waitress replied, 'But first, a taste of things to come.'

The waitress bent forward and began kissing the prince. The lusty royal was returning the kiss when he felt a prick on the back of his neck.

Faisal could only say, 'What did you-', before passing out. His last moment of consciousness being the waitress now giving him a malicious smirk.

…

The prince awoke to find himself strapped to a table, 'What in-'

'So, you've awakened, Prince Faisal.'

The room was dimly lit, but he could make out the figure speaking in front of him. It was an Arab man, black haired (with some gray), and a goatee.

'Do I know you?', the prince frightfully asked.

'Not personally, but perhaps you know me through reputation. I am Ra's al Ghul.'

Faisal went pale, 'The Demon's Head…'

'Yes. And I wanted to have a word with you about how you bankroll Jihadist groups.'

The prince sputtered out, 'I-I have no idea what you speak of.'

Ra's laughed, 'Come now, do not think me a fool. Even the most incompetent detective in the world could trace money from the coffers of the likes of Al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State back to you.'

'But-', the prince was cut off by Ra's, 'I am not interested in hearing your excuses,' 'Dr. Moon.'

A tall, bespectacled Asian man came out of the shadows. He produced a needle from his pocket and injected it into the prince's forearm.

'What are you-', Faisal suddenly found it too painful to talk.

'Nicely done, doctor,'

'Thank you, Master,' the Asian man bowed and walked out of the room.

Now with a captive audience, Ra's began, 'Let me tell you a story of your homeland: in the fifteenth century, there lived a physician who strived to aid the sick whenever he could. So renowned were his skills in medicine that he was summoned to serve the court of the Sultan himself.

One day, the sultan's son fell deathly ill, so the sultan turned to the physician to heal him. The physician did as he was asked, and in no time, the prince was back on his feet, healthy as can be?

And how did the prince thank his savior? By murdering his wife and blaming him for the deed!

Now, the sultan, after years of faithful service, condemned his physician to death without a second thought.

The prince devised an especially cruel execution for the physician: he was to be placed in a cage with the corpse of his beloved wife and left to rot in the desert sun.

However, fate smiled upon the physician when another repaid a past kindness by freeing him from the cage. Together, they traversed the desert until they came into contact with a nomadic tribe-the physician's kinsmen.

The physician rallied the tribesmen to his side. They assaulted the city, killing the sultan's elite guard.

As for the sultan and his son, the physician saw to their ends personally. Words could not describe the satisfaction on the physician's face as he saw the sultan's face when he witnessed his son's execution.

But, the physician was not finished, for he knew that the city had been too sullied by the royal family's decadence and corruption to be allowed to continue. Every single inhabitant was put to the sword and every building or hut was put to the torch.

Though the deaths weighed on the physician's soul, he knew he had done what he had to.'

Ra's took out his sword. Faisal began sweating as he approached, 'Prince, I wish for you to know that, of all the deviants and fanatics I have encountered over the centuries, you are among the foulest. For you are not even devout to your faith, as evidenced by the hedonism you indulge in abroad, yet you are all to happy to fund some of the worst barbarians on this planet.'

The captor held the blade against his prey's throat, 'Happy that your wealth shielded you from seeing the suffering your money led to first hand, weren't you?'

With a cry, Ra's held his sword up and plunged it into Faisal's heart.

…

'You did well, Talia.'

Talia nodded at her father's compliment, 'Thank you, Father.'

Though having to be touched by that pig made her skin crawl, helping to aid in his demise (and her father's plans) made Talia feel like she was helping in a great undertaking.

'Are all the arrangements done, Ubu?', Ra's turned to his manservant.

'Yes, Master,' the bald bodyguard nodded.

'Excellent, the murder of a Saudi royal on British soil ought to start quite a stir.'


	36. Happy Birthday

Today would be the first birthday Oswald would spend in the Loud house. He barely got off the stairs before he was squeezed in a tight hug by all the siblings.

'Happy birthday, Ozzie!', they cried out.

'T-thank you, everyone,' Oswald muffled out before being released to catch his breath.

'Oh, there's the birthday boy!', Rita walked over and kissed Oswald on the cheek.

Luna sat down on the couch, 'Hey Oz, what do you want for dinner tonight?'

Lana, with a hopeful look in her eyes, spoke up, 'Oh, can we go out to Burp n' Burger?'

Oswald paused, 'Um…' He didn't like fast food, but he hesitated to disappoint Lana.

'It's your birthday, sweetie,' Rita soothed, 'you get to decide'.

'Then, no.'

The rest of the day went unlike any other birthday in Oswald's life. For the most part, it was usually a quiet affair-a good morning, dinner with his favorite food, and then a piece of cake. With the Louds, the day was filled with excitement.

At its climax, Oswald was standing in the kitchen, in front of his birthday cake (ice cream flavored) with the Loud parents and siblings singing, 'Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, dear Oswald, happy birthday to you!'

Oswald looked upon his adoptive family, paused to think up a wish, then blew out the candles.


	37. Space Invaders

"You're always Miss Doom and Gloom! Would it kill ya to smile once in a while?!"

"It would."

Oswald found the majority of his siblings gathered around the door to Lynn and Lucy's room, "What's going on?"

"Don't get involved, Ozzie," Lori told him, "Just trust me, don't," before pointing him in the direction of his own room.

Minutes later, he and Lincoln were getting ready to go to sleep when they heard a knock on the door.

Lincoln got out of bed and opened it, revealing Lynn, carrying a pillow, "Hey, Lynn, what's up?", he tiredly asked.

The jock huffed, "There's no way I'm staying in the same room with the Duchess of Darkness," then paused to soften her tone, "Can I switch bunks with one of you guys tonight?"

Lincoln shared a surprised look with Oswald, then stared at Lynn again, "Sure…just give us a few secs, ok?"

Then, he approached Oswald, sitting in bed, "Listen, Ozzie, how 'bout you and I have a thumb war: the winner stays here, and the loser goes to their room."

Exhausted from the day prior, Oswald agreed, "Okay."

The two began a thumb war. With Oswald putting in little effort, Lincoln easily won.

He announced, "All right, Lynn, you can stay," while Oswald got out of bed and gathered his own pillow.

Lynn gave Oswald a hug before he went out of the room, "Thanks, Ozzie!"

As the door shut, Lynn added, "And thank you, Lincoln!"

Oswald cringed as he heard Lincoln's yelp of pain, "Two for flinching!"

He approached Lynn and Lucy's room, where he was greeted by Lucy, sitting upright in her (coffin?), who growled, "I thought I told you-"

Upon seeing it was Oswald, Lucy's tone was brought closer to her usual monotone, "Oswald? What are you doing here?"

"Lynn and I switched bunks for tonight," Oswald paused before nervously adding, "Is that ok?"

"Ok?", for one of the first times since he'd met her, Lucy grew a smile on her face, "It's perfect…"

Feeling more awkward now than ever, Oswald set his pillow down on Lynn's bed, "Good, then…I'll just get on here."

Oswald's inner germaphobe cringed when getting under Lynn's blanket, but he decided to soldier through it. After all, it would only be for one night.

"Good night, Lucy."

The light went out.

"Good night, Oswald."

Oswald was lulling to sleep when he caught some little traces of light staring down at him in the darkness. He gulped as he realized that these were Lucy's pet bats.

The bats. The bats…

The bats that he had been trying his best to avoid ever since he moved into the Loud household. There was just something about these creatures that made him feel…ill at ease.

…

At sunrise, Oswald awoke to Lucy, all dressed and alert, looking down on him, "Good morning, Oswald."

Spooked by the goth, Oswald stuttered in reply, "G-good morning."

They heard a cry of "Hey!" in the hallway. A second later, Lynn entered the room-as if she was pushed.

Lucy spat, "What are you doing here?"

In response, Lynn only confused repeated, "What am I doing here?"

Breaking her monotone, Lucy bellowed, "Get out!"

"What do you mean 'get out'? Fine! I'll just stay in Lincoln's room again! He's a way cooler roomy anyway!", Lynn incredulously stalked out of the room.

Lincoln's "But-!" resounded through the hallway before his door slammed.

The white-haired boy appeared in the doorway, "Lucy, please make up with Lynn!"

Lucy turned her head, "I'd rather wear pink."

Lincoln let out a defeated sigh before walking away.

With the distraction over, Lucy returned her attention to Oswald, "Now then, would you care to hear some of my poetry?"

Oswald shrugged, "Sure…"

…

Lincoln and Oswald sat next to each other at breakfast.

Oswald made the first move,"So, how was your night?"

The elder spitefully spat, "Two words: Dutch. Ovens."

Oswald was confused, "What?"

Lincoln whispered into Oswald's ear. The younger boy jerked his head, "Ew!"

"How 'bout you?"

Oswald shrugged, "Alright, I guess-well, except for that bat."

"Yeah, watch your back when you're around Lucy's bats. Sometimes, they like to…", Lincoln took on a whisper, "get bold."

Oswald paused, fear gripping him, "Bold?"

Lincoln continued, "Bite people."

"What?!"

…

The darkness was all around him. Oswald was running for his life. Behind him, flew the bat-a demonic creature with blood-red eyes and razor-sharp fangs-just waiting for the chance to feast upon his blood. The bat was catching up to him when he tripped and fell…

"Aaaah!"

"Are you okay, Ozzie?"

Oswald had fallen out of bed onto the floor. He looked up to see Lynn, standing in the doorway, with concern in her eyes.

Lucy, too, was awake, "What is it this time?"

"Just here for my stuff- ", Lynn covered her sad expression with a smirk, "since I just got the best roommate ever! Goodbye and good riddance!", as she packed her things and walked away.

"Sigh," Lucy returned to her coffin while Oswald climbed back into bed, "back to bed then."

…

"Sigh…"

In the morning, this time, Oswald awoke to the sound of a ball being bounced against the wall.

Turning over, he saw, much to his shock, it was Lucy throwing the ball, "Lucy…"

Caught by surprise, Lucy threw the ball away, "Ball? What ball?"

"Okay…"

…

"So, how your night?"

Oswald and Lincoln were sitting down for breakfast.

"Terrible. I tried everything I could think of to get Lynn to switch back rooms-but it only made her want to stay even more!", Lincoln fumed, "You?"

"Had trouble sleeping."

"I'm sorry about that, buddy,", Lincoln looked at him worriedly, "Was it the bats?"

"Yes…", Oswald muttered, "and Lucy bouncing that ball against the wall."

"Wait…do you mean one of Lynn's balls?"

"I guess so."

From the expression on his face, Oswald could tell that his brother was hatching an idea.

…

Oswald was walking up the stairs when he noticed something. One of Lucy's bats dropped down from the ceiling. Headed straight towards him-with its fangs out!

"Aaah!"

Oswald was in a panic. Until he remembered one of the biggest predators of bats: owls.

He rushed into the attic, where his owl was sleeping.

"Chester! Chester!"

The owl's eyes opened at his owner's rousing.

"Help me!", Oswald opened the cage door and pointed at the bat that had followed him up there.

At the approach of the much larger owl, the bat made a quick retreat.

Relieved, Oswald called Chester back, "Good boy, good boy," and began nudging him below the beak.

"Oswald," his joy sunk when he heard Lucy call from downstairs, "get down here."

Oswald climbed out of the attic, where the goth was waiting, ready to plead, "Lucy, I can explain…"

Lucy interrupted, "Has Hans been bothering you?"

Resigned, Oswald admitted, "…Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Um…"

"Sigh…", Lucy paused, "I will tell him and the rest of the bats to leave you be."

Oswald couldn't believe his luck, "Really?"

"Oh, thank you, Lucy!"

Oswald threw his arms around Lucy. Though caught off guard for a second, she returned the hug.

"You're welcome."

…

In Lucy and Lynn's room, a table with food was set up. Oswald was sitting on the bed, observing. According to Lucy, Lynn had left a note for her in the poetry book, saying she wanted to apologize.

Oswald was relieved that this crisis was finally ending.

The two girls spoke at the same time, first pleased, "I'm glad you finally wanna apologize to me," then irritated, "What? Me apologize to you? You're here to apologize to me!"

This gave way to an argument with a scared Oswald watching.

"You are absolutely crazy."

"What, you're the one whose crazy!"

"You are being ridiculous."

"I'm not the one who started it! You are-"

Lincoln entered the room and cried out, "Hold it! Guys, I made this dinner so that you two would make up."

Lynn narrowed her eyes at him, "You did this?"

Lucy turned towards Oswald accusingly, "Et tu, Oswald?"

Oswald held his hands up, "I had nothing to do with this!"

"He's right," Lincoln stated, "it was all me."

Lucy asked, "Why?"

"Because I know that, for all your fights, you miss each other. But you're too stubborn to admit it."

Lucy admitted, "I guess I do have trouble sleeping without a ball banging against the wall."

Lynn had her head down, "And I guess I do miss hearing you sigh heavily as you write your poems."

Lincoln smiled, "See? Now, you two make up, because if I have to spend one more night with 'Snorezilla' over here, I'm going to go insane!"

Offended by this remark, Lynn threw a meatball in his direction, hitting him in the face.

Lucy chuckled, "Ha! Nice throw."

Lynn threw another meatball at Lincoln, "You like that?"

Lincoln caught the meatball and returned fire but hit Lucy instead. What ensued was a three-way food fight between the brother and sisters (Oswald hiding under the bed to stay out of it).

…

By the end, the room was trashed.

"So, I can move back in?"

In her usual monotone, Lucy answered, "Nothing would make me happier."

"Two for flinching!", Lynn held her fist up but was disappointed when Lucy made no reaction, "Dang, it never works on you."

The jock and goth hugged.

Once apart, Lucy stated, "I'm glad we made up, but there's no way we can sleep here tonight."

To this, the two looked at their white-haired brother, "Lincoln?"

"Do you think we could fit in your room with you and Ozzie?"

…

It was a tight fit, but all four of them were sleeping in Lincoln and Oswald's room. Lynn sharing Lincoln's bed and Lucy sharing Oswald's.

Due to the two girls' loud snoring, Oswald found it hard to fall asleep.

'Just for one night,' he thought, as a comfort. Just for one night…


End file.
